AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Congress on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Central government, alleging that the continued denial of grants to several public universities in Gujarat has exposed a "systematic neglect" of higher education and pushed thousands of students from poor, middle-class and general category families further away from affordable education.
Releasing official grant data, Gujarat Congress spokesperson Dr Hiren Banker claimed that six universities in Gujarat did not receive any grant under various Central schemes during 2025-26, raising serious questions over the Centre's commitment to strengthening public higher education in the state.
According to the Congress, North Gujarat University, South Gujarat University, Kutch University, Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gujarat Law University and IIM-A received zero financial assistance under the Centre's various university grant schemes during the current financial year.
The party further alleged that North Gujarat University and Gujarat Law University have not received a single rupee of Central grant for four consecutive years, calling it a disturbing pattern rather than an isolated administrative lapse.
Backing its allegations with grant figures from UGC data, the Congress pointed out that North Gujarat University received no grant in 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26, while South Gujarat University received only Rs 3.97 lakh in 2023-24 and nothing in the remaining three years.
Similarly, Kutch University received Rs 3.95 lakh each in 2022-23 and 2023-24 but nothing during the last two financial years, while Gujarat National Law University also recorded zero allocation throughout the four-year period, the party claimed.
Using these figures to question the Centre's priorities, the Congress argued that public universities are being left financially vulnerable at a time when they are already grappling with severe shortages of academic staff and deteriorating infrastructure.
Dr Hiren Banker alleged that the funding squeeze has compounded an already fragile higher education system in Gujarat.
"Government and grant-in-aid colleges in Gujarat have been functioning without regular recruitment of principals for years. Around 45 to 55 per cent of professor posts remain vacant, while more than 60 per cent of non-teaching positions, including laboratory assistants and librarians, are lying vacant. At such a critical stage, denying grants to government universities is a direct injustice to the future of Gujarat's students," Banker said.
Escalating his criticism, Banker accused the BJP governments at the Centre and in Gujarat of pursuing a deliberate policy aimed at weakening public universities while encouraging private institutions.
"The BJP has a well-planned policy to dismantle the government college and public university system. Affordable higher education is gradually being made inaccessible. On one hand, grants to public universities are shrinking, while on the other, private universities are expanding with permission to charge higher fees. This creates a system where quality education increasingly depends on a student's financial capacity rather than merit," he alleged.
Highlighting what the Congress described as an irony, Banker claimed that Kutch University, located in the home district of Gujarat's Education Minister, has also received zero grants for the last two years, despite repeated demands for strengthening educational infrastructure.
The Congress further linked the funding issue with declining access to higher education, citing findings it attributed to NITI Aayog.
"The country's own policy documents indicate that only 18 to 22 out of every 100 students are able to enter higher education after completing higher secondary education. This means 78 to 82 students are left out, making investment in public universities even more critical. Instead of expanding opportunities, the Centre is reducing financial support," Banker claimed.
The party also accused the BJP-led Central government of steadily reducing national spending on education.
According to the Congress, the UPA government had allocated around 4.6 per cent of GDP towards education until 2014, whereas the present allocation has declined to around 2.5 per cent of GDP. The party claimed this reflects a substantial reduction in public investment in education, arguing that the figures themselves expose the challenges confronting higher education.
Demanding immediate intervention, the Gujarat Congress called upon the Central government to restore adequate grants to all government universities in Gujarat and urged the state government to immediately fill vacancies of principals, professors, librarians and laboratory staff across government and grant-in-aid colleges.
The party maintained that without sustained financial support and large-scale recruitment, Gujarat's public higher education system would continue to weaken, leaving affordable university education increasingly beyond the reach of students from economically weaker and middle-class families.