Telangana Minister Opposes Draft UGC Regulations 2025
Telangana’s IT and Industries Minister, D Sridhar Babu, has strongly opposed the Draft UGC Regulations 2025. These new rules aim to reduce the power of State governments in appointing university Vice-Chancellors.
On Wednesday, Sridhar Babu attended a key meeting in Bengaluru, representing the Telangana government in place of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. The meeting included education ministers and representatives from six non-BJP-ruled States—Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Jharkhand, and Himachal Pradesh—who united against the Centre’s proposal.
During the meeting, Sridhar Babu criticized the Central government’s attempt to control higher education. He pointed out that States have always had the authority to appoint Vice-Chancellors, and now the Centre wants to take over this role. He highlighted that Telangana spends nearly ₹4,000 crore annually on higher education, including setting up new universities and supporting research and innovation. He questioned why the Centre should interfere in State matters.
The Minister also strongly opposed a proposal allowing industry leaders, bureaucrats, and outsiders to be appointed as Vice-Chancellors, calling it a bad idea. He criticized another rule requiring universities to have at least 3,000 students to qualify for grading and Central incentives, arguing that it would favor private and deemed universities while putting State institutions at a disadvantage.
Sridhar Babu also condemned the plan to introduce entrance exams for undergraduate courses like BA, BCom, and BSc. He argued that this would create difficulties for students from economically weaker backgrounds. Another issue he rejected was the proposal to extend the tenure of Vice-Chancellors from three to five years.
The Minister also raised concerns about the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. He said that policies like allowing students to pursue two courses at the same time and introducing twice-yearly admissions would put excessive pressure on faculty and infrastructure.
Furthermore, he criticized the UGC for threatening to withhold funds from States that do not follow the grading criteria or implement the NEP. He also opposed the push for online and correspondence course approvals, calling it a violation of the federal system of governance.
Sridhar Babu reminded attendees that CM Revanth Reddy had already sent a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, officially opposing the Draft UGC Regulations 2025. He stressed that any major changes in higher education should be made through discussion and agreement, not by force from the Centre.
By the end of the meeting, the education ministers and representatives from the six States passed a resolution urging Dharmendra Pradhan to stop the draft regulations. Telangana was also represented at the meeting by Higher Education Commissioner A Sridevasena and Higher Education Council Chairman Balakrishna Reddy.
