The new UGC regulations granting Governors broader control over VC appointments and allowing non-academics to hold these posts are a direct...
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin condemned new UGC draft regulations as an unconstitutional assault on federalism, vowing to fight them legally and politically.
M.K.Stalin@mkstalinOriginal post
The new UGC regulations granting Governors broader control over VC appointments and allowing non-academics to hold these posts are a direct assault on federalism and state rights. This authoritarian move by the Union BJP government seeks to centralise power and undermine democratically elected state governments. Education must remain in the hands of those chosen by the people, not dictated by Governors acting at the BJP government’s behest.
Tamil Nadu, which leads the nation with the highest number of top-ranking HEIs, will not stay silent as our institutions are stripped of autonomy.
Education is a subject under the Concurrent List in our Constitution, and hence we consider that the move of the UGC to issue this notification unilaterally as unconstitutional. This overreach is unacceptable, and Tamil Nadu will fight it legally and politically.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin condemned the University Grants Commission’s draft regulations granting Governors sweeping control over Vice-Chancellor selections as a blatant central assault on federalism and state rights. Criticizing the provision that permits non-academics to occupy university leadership roles, Stalin declared that this authoritarian measure by the Union BJP government aims to centralize executive authority and undermine democratically elected state administrations. He insisted that education policy must remain accountable to elected representatives.
The Chief Minister asserted that Tamil Nadu, which leads the nation with the highest number of top-ranking higher education institutions, will never surrender institutional autonomy to unelected gubernatorial appointees. Because education falls squarely under the Concurrent List of the Constitution, Stalin characterized the UGC's unilateral notification as fundamentally unconstitutional and legally void. He warned that subordinating state universities to gubernatorial diktats erodes academic excellence, diversity, and social justice protections achieved through state legislation.
Stalin affirmed that Tamil Nadu will mount a determined challenge against this bureaucratic overreach through coordinated legal action and nationwide political mobilization. He reiterated that the state will resolutely defend provincial rights and democratic accountability.