New Delhi, Jan 27: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, reacting to the raging controversy over the new UGC regulations on Tuesday, said that nobody will be allowed to “discriminate or harass” under the guise of new guidelines and assured that the education body and government will ensure that these are implemented on the ground in all fairness.
The Union Minister, speaking to newsmen today, said, “I assure everyone that there won’t be any discrimination or harassment in the name of the new UGC regulation. No one can misuse the law.”
The Education Minister’s assurance comes days after the new UGC regulations on “equity in higher educational institutions” created an uproar among students and faculty, with many calling it biased and discriminatory against students belonging to upper castes.
Earlier in the day, #ShameonUGC became the top trend on the microblogging platform X, with many netizens terming the new regulations as against the general category. The controversy erupted after UGC released a new set of regulations under the “Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations 2026” for grievance redressal and supporting disadvantaged groups across universities and colleges.
This sparked anger and backlash from the students belonging to upper castes, who also staged a demonstration outside the UGC office today. The controversy took a fresh twist as a senior bureaucrat and a BJP youth wing leader resigned from their posts on Monday, calling the regulations “discriminatory and draconian”.
According to UGC’s new regulations, every higher education institution would have to establish an equal opportunity centre, comprising representatives from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), as well as Women.
The new set of regulations, ever since unveiled, set off a storm as well as a showdown on various public platforms, with leaders and activists labelling it as “anti-General category students” and claiming that it was aimed at weaponising the existing laws against upper-class students, thereby turning the campuses into potential battlegrounds.
IANS
