What Are UGC’s New Rules To Hire Vice-Chancellors, Faculty, Has NET Been Scrapped For Certain Posts? Explained – News18

Last Updated:January 07, 2025, 09:18 IST

One of the major changes proposed by UGC is to remove NET as a criterion for those with a PG degree in Master of Engineering or Masters of Technology, having secured a minimum of 55%, applying for the post of assistant professor

In a major recruitment overhaul, industry experts or experienced professionals can be directly appointed as vice-chancellors (V-C), according to the new draft rules released on Monday.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan released the UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment & Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025, on Monday.

The rules also propose those with a post-graduate (PG) degree in ME or MTech with at least 55% marks to be eligible for the post of assistant professor (entry level post), without having to clear the UGC-NET exam, which currently is a mandatory requirement.

The draft regulations were approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC), the higher education regulator, in a commission meeting held on December 23, 2024.

Pradhan said, “These reforms will infuse innovation, inclusivity, flexibility and dynamism in every aspect of higher education, empower teachers and academic staff, strengthen academic standards and pave the way for achieving educational excellence.”

The draft guidelines, in line with the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, have been put out in public domain for feedback from stakeholders.

The new regulations will apply to Central, state, private and deemed universities. All such colleges and universities will have to abide by the new norms within six months of the rules being notified.

What Do The Draft Rules Say For Selection Of V-Cs?

The draft norms propose an additional eligibility criterion for selection of V-Cs, which allows those with at least 10 years of senior-level experience in industry, public policy, public administration, or PSUs, with a proven track record of significant academic or scholarly contributions, to be considered for the post.

This is a major shift from the current rules that allow only academicians, with at least 10 years of experience as a professor or those in a prominent administrative or research role to be eligible for the role.

UGC head M Jagadesh Kumar, the primary objective of these regulations is to broaden the horizon and freedom and flexibility in the recruitment process. “The guidelines seek to change selection process for V-Cs, such as expanding eligibility criteria to include professionals from academia, research institutions, public policy, public administration, and industry,” he said.

Also, the new norms amply clarify that if an applicant for the V-C’s post is a person from the university’s apex body, they have to “recuse” themselves from the meeting wherein nominees are being discussed on the agenda. “In case of violation, the applicant shall be disqualified as the candidate for the post of vice-chancellor,” the regulations said. So far, this rule was not specified in writing and universities have often been seen sending complaints to the UGC over such matters where there has been a conflict of interest.

The new regulations also propose to change the composition of the search-cum-selection committee for appointing the V-C, from what so far used to be a three-five-member panel, to now a three-member panel comprising nominees from —Visitor or Chancellor, who shall be the chairperson of the committee; UGC; or of the apex body of the university.

What Do The Rules Seek To Change In Faculty Recruitment?

The rules aim to transform how faculty members are recruited and promoted in Indian higher education institutions (HEIs) by introducing changes that enhance flexibility, inclusivity, and excellence in faculty recruitment and career progression.

For the post of assistant professor, an applicant with a four-year undergraduate (UG) degree with 75% marks or a PG degree with a minimum of 55% marks (or an equivalent grade) and a PhD degree will be eligible.

Also, anyone with a PG degree, securing 55% marks and having qualified NET will be eligible for the post.

One of the major changes that the draft regulations propose is making those with a PG degree in Master of Engineering (ME) or Masters of Technology (MTech), securing at least a minimum of 55% marks, eligible for the post of assistant professor (the entry level post), without having to clear the National Eligibility Test (NET), which currently is mandatory.

Another change the draft rules intend to bring is that once the rules are notified, individuals can qualify for faculty positions based on their performance in a subject of their choice in UGC-NET, even if their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees are in different disciplines.

Also, the subject of the PhD degree precedes the disciplines studied in undergraduate and postgraduate degrees for faculty selections.

“This is an important flexibility to remove rigid subject boundaries and allow faculty applicants to transition across disciplines, creating a more multi-disciplinary eco-system within university campuses,” said Prof Kumar.

‘Focus On Qualitative Approach’

Prof Kumar further said the Academic Performance Indicator (API) system in the 2018 regulations heavily relied on quantitative metrics, reducing academic performance to numerical scores.

“In the previous regulations, candidates were often judged primarily on numerical criteria, such as journal or conference publication counts. The 2025 regulations discontinue the API-based shortlisting and adopt a more qualitative approach, allowing selection committees to assess candidates holistically based on their contributions and broader academic impact in areas such as innovation in teaching methodologies, technology development, entrepreneurial contributions, book writing, development of digital learning resources, societal contributions; promoting Indian languages and Indian knowledge systems and sustainability practices; supervising internships or initiating successful startups,” he said.

The rules also state that one or more qualifications in UG, PG or PhD in the Indian language medium for applicants to these posts may be encouraged.

These regulations facilitate the selection of faculty members from multi-disciplinary backgrounds instead of just the conventional domains, which is the practice currently.

The regulations introduce specialised recruitment pathways to attract the best talent in fields such as yoga, music, performing arts, visual arts, sculpture, and drama.

“These pathways recognise professional accomplishments and national or international achievements. This flexibility ensures that practitioners with exceptional skills in these traditional art forms can contribute to academia. The guidelines also allow accomplished sportspersons opportunities to teach physical education in colleges and universities,” said Prof Kumar.

PhD shall be a mandatory qualification for promotion to Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor in universities and colleges.

The draft rules propose changes for the post of associate professor level in disciplines including —Arts, Humanities, Education, Law, Social Sciences, Languages, Library Science, Physical Education, Journalism and Mass Communication, Engineering/Technology, Management, Drama, Yoga, Performing Arts, Visual Arts and other Indian Art forms.

Aside from the academic qualifications, the draft rules make it mandatory for applicants of assistant professor to have a minimum of eight research publications in peer-reviewed journals or publication of a book as an author or two books as a co-author by a reputed publisher or eight granted patents. A combination of research publications, book chapters and granted patents totalling eight can be considered.

Similarly, for the post of professor, the additional criterion is to have a minimum of 10 research publications in peer-reviewed journals or publication of 10 book chapters or publication of four books as an author or eight books as a co-author by a reputed publisher or ten granted patents. A combination of research publications, books, book chapters and granted patents totalling 10, can be considered.