JAIPUR: While widespread protests over the new UGC regulations persist across the country, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has assured that the law would not be misused and fair and transparent implementation of the UGC 2026 regulations will be ensured by the government.
Besides defending the rules, Pradhan also asserted that the new rules are aimed at student safety and preventing discrimination.
The Union Education Minister was in Nagaur district of Rajasthan on Tuesday to participate in a community program when he made his conciliatory remarks. Pradhan asserted, “I want to assure you with utmost humility that no one will be persecuted or discriminated against.No one will have the right to misuse anyone in the name of discrimination. This applies to the UGC, the Government of India, and the state governments; everyone will have their responsibilities.”
Pradhan further added, “I assure you that whatever arrangements have been made are within the framework of the Constitution of India. This matter has been addressed under the supervision of the Supreme Court. I want to assure you on behalf of the government that no one will be subjected to oppression or discrimination.”
The UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, announced on January 13, includes Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in their provisions and these new rules have also removed penalties proposed in the original draft for filing false cases.
Several senior educationists are alarmed by these new rules and while requesting anonymity, they have called for the regulations to be rolled back.
One leading educationist remarked, “Creating Mobile Equal Opportunity Squads comprising students and young professors and empowering them to carry out sudden checks inside colleges is ridiculous and creates animosity. A HEI should be a place of harmony and bonding for students. The same applies to the idea of Equity Ambassadors inside hostels. When people live together, there is all kinds of banter and camaraderie. You never know what will be misunderstood, and it will make students wary of each other. General category students will feel lost and left out, and it will impact relationships.”
Another senior educationist said, “These rules need to be withdrawn or amended immediately as they create divisions and mistrust among students.”
The new regulations define caste-based discrimination as “discrimination only on the basis of caste or tribe against the members of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs)”.
However, the inclusion of OBCs, absent from the draft released a year ago, has drawn attention. The exclusion of the general category, which critics say could also face caste-based discrimination, has fuelled the controversy.
The new rules replace the 2012 anti-discrimination regulations for HEIs and the controversy stirred by them shows that the equity regulations have become a flashpoint in larger national debate on social justice on campuses.
