NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Thursday extended till February 28 the date for receiving feedback on the draft recruitment and promotion norms, officials said.
Earlier, the stakeholders were supposed to send feedback by February 5.
"In view of requests received from stakeholders to extend the last date to submit the feedback on draft UGC regulations, 2025, UGC has now decided to extend the deadline till February 28," UGC Secretary Manish Joshi said.
The UGC had last month released the draft (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025 which, it said, will replace the 2018 guidelines.
According to the draft regulations, industry experts, as well as senior professionals from public administration, public policy and public sector undertakings, might soon be eligible for appointment as vice-chancellors. The draft norms have also given power to chancellors or visitors to constitute the three-member search-cum-selection committee to appoint vice-chancellors.
The new guidelines will also amend the norms for hiring faculty members in universities allowing people having a postgraduate degrees in Master of Engineering (M.E) and Masters of Technology (MTech), with at least 55 per cent marks, to directly get recruited to the Assistant Professor level without qualifying for the UGC National Eligibility Test (NET).
Six ministers or their representatives from Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand (all-opposition ruled states) on Thursday adopted a 15-point resolution on the UGC's "draconian" draft regulations, 2025.
"The Draft UGC Regulations 2025 aim to ensure the highest standards in universities by introducing a more inclusive and transparent selection process. The proposed draft regulations seek to uphold the autonomy and accountability of higher education institutions," UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said.
"The primary objective is to enhance the quality of education, promote research innovation, align university governance with global best practices, and fulfil the transformative vision of NEP 2020. We welcome constructive feedback and work collaboratively to strengthen our country's higher education system," he added.