State Education Ministers of Kerala (R Bindu), Tamil Nadu (Govi Cheziaan) and Himachal Pradesh (Rohit Thakur) participated in the conclave. Telangana was represented by IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu and Jharkhand by MLA Sudivya Kumar.
Karnataka Higher Education Minister M C Sudhakar said it was decided unanimously that the UGC must engage in a collaborative consultative process with all the states when framing these regulations.
Many states, including BJP allies, have pointed out various ‘flaws’ in the draft of the UGC (Minimum Qualification 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, said Sudhakar.
In a joint statement, they said the state governments must be given a pivotal role in the appointment of vice-chancellors to state public universities. They asserted that the draft UGC regulations do not envisage any role for the state governments in the appointment of the vice-chancellors of public universities established under state Acts and thus, impinge on the legitimate rights of the state in a federal setup.
“The regulations severely curtail the rights of the states in constituting the search-cum-selection committees for selection of vice chancellors,” the ministers said.
With inputs from PTI
