Mita Mukherjee
University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, said on Thursday that the new draft regulations regarding appointment of vice-chancellor is in tune with the provisions of the NEP 2020 and it will be a binding on all state-aided, central and deemed universities to abide by the rules.
Speaking at the sidelines of the 18th annual convocation of St. Xavier’s College, Autonomous, Kolkata, the UGC chairman said that since independence or even before, it has always been the chancellor who would appoint the VCs and therefore as per the new draft, the governor, the ex-officio chancellor will have the ultimate authority in the composition of the selection committee for selecting VCs. He said that the UGC in its draft regulations has adopted the rules that were there in the 2010 regulations.
“ The UGC adopted exactly what it was in 2010… The rules in the new draft regulations regarding the appointment of the regulations are in tune with the objectives of the regulations of NEP 2020 and applicable to all state, central, deemed and private universities.. These regulations are not new… But we have to discuss the regulations with institutions across the country…” the UGC chairman said.
In keeping with the earlier regulations, the state universities must include a nominee of governor, a nominee of state government, a nominee from the university syndicate of the concerned university and a nominee from UGC.
Several states like, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have objected to provisions in the UGC’s recently released Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance in Higher Education ) Regulations 2025 that could give chancellors bigger role in appointing vice-chancellors.
Addressing the convocation, the UGC chairman emphasized that all higher education institutions must promote Indian languages as a medium of instruction to enhance learning outcomes. He urged institutions to come out with the mindset that “without English learning cannot happen.”
It is important to learn English as a tool of communication but not as a medium of instruction, he said.
“Why should we feel inferior about our own Indian languages?” he asked. “It has been shown through research that students become creative and innovative when they are taught in their mother tongue. At the same time, learn English as a tool of communication but not as a medium of education. We need to come out of this mindset that learning cannot happen without English. In our constitution too we recognize the linguistic diversity of our country,” he said.
He said, there are 22 languages which are part of their schedule list for their promotion and the UGC is working with hundreds of universities across the country to produce 22,000 text books in 22 languages.
He further said in his speech that while technology is fast evolving there is a need for higher education institutions to reflect about whether they are preparing their students for new opportunities. He stressed the need to encourage skill education in higher education.
To ensure that students are able to meet their career and academic aspirations, the UGC will allow students to take 50 per cent of the credits for majoring in a given discipline. They can complete skill courses up to 50 per cent of the remaining total credits required in a degree programme.
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