Education | The Indian Express
Professor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), has retired from his position. He assumed the role in February 2022. During his tenure, he undertook several significant initiatives, including the introduction of the Central University Entrance Test (CUET) for both undergraduate and postgraduate admissions. He also played a key role in implementing aspects of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2022. Among other measures, he proposed dissolving the UGC CARE List and advocated for increased flexibility in the educational qualifications required for faculty recruitment.
As of now, the Ministry of Education has not notified any name for the vacant position.
Mamidala not only served as the UGC Chairman but also the vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) from 2016-2022.
Farewell to Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar 🌟
The University Grants Commission bids a heartfelt farewell to Chairman Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar (@mamidala90).
His tenure was marked by a series of unprecedented student-centric reforms and far-reaching institutional changes across the… pic.twitter.com/kJSg6zNDpQ
— UGC INDIA (@ugc_india) April 7, 2025
Here are some of the initiatives taken by former UGC Chief
–The University Grants Commission (UGC) has allowed higher education institutions to admit students twice a year. While earlier regulations allowed students to be admitted only during July-August, the UGC’s recent decision means that students can now be admitted in January/February and in July/August during the upcoming academic session. The UGC’s decision now leaves it to the institutions to decide if they want to offer admissions in both cycles or just one depending on their infrastructure and faculty.
–The University Grants Commission introduced the draft guidelines for the apprenticeship embedded degree programme with the aim to enable a student admitted to an undergraduate programme of a Higher Educational Institution to pursue apprenticeship training as an integrated component of the degree programme in compliance with these guidelines.
— The University Grants Commission (UGC) has started the application for the Ishan Uday Scholarship for the North Eastern Region (NER).
— It also eased the hiring contract teachers and opens the vice chancellor post to non-academics.
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—Under his tenure, he also introduced the 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. UGC Chairman Prof Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar had earlier told The Indian Express, “The Draft UGC Regulations 2025 aims to ensure the highest standards in universities by introducing a more inclusive and transparent selection process. 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 National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. We welcome constructive feedback and work collaboratively to strengthen our country’s higher education system.”
— The Commission also introduced the draft regulations on promoting equity in higher education institutions. The draft called for ‘Equity committees’ to look into complaints of discrimination; ‘equity squads’ to maintain “vigil” and prevent such incidents; and an ‘equity helpline’ for reporting cases. The 2025 draft regulations have retained the provision of equal opportunity centres, though this time its functioning and composition has been spelled out.
–The UGC announced a new set of regulations to streamline the process of recognising and granting equivalence to academic qualifications obtained from foreign institutions. The UGC (Recognition and Grant of Equivalence to Qualifications Obtained from Foreign Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2025, allow for the recognition of qualifications obtained from offshore campuses of foreign institutions, provided they meet specific criteria.
–The Draft UGC (Minimum Standards of Instructions in the Award of UG and PG Degrees) Regulations, 2024, proposed significant changes to both the admission process and the structural framework of academic programmes. He also introduced provisions for multiple entry and exit points, recognition of prior learning, as well as accelerated and extended degree programmes, enabling the duration of undergraduate courses to be shortened or extended.
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— Discontinuation of the UGC-CARE list—a curated list of quality academic journals first introduced in 2018. It has now been replaced with a set of indicative parameters for selecting journals, based on eight specific criteria.
— During his tenure, the UGC introduced a new set of regulations aimed at simplifying the process of recognizing and granting equivalence to academic qualifications earned from foreign institutions. The UGC (Recognition and Grant of Equivalence to Qualifications Obtained from Foreign Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2025, now permit the recognition of qualifications obtained from offshore campuses of foreign universities.
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