[Marxistindia] Resolution adopted at the 24th Congress of CPI(M)

[news from the cpi(m)]

Resolution

 

Oppose the University Grants Commission (UGC) Draft Regulations

 

The 24th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly opposes
the Draft University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations, 2025, as they
represent yet another attempt to centralize and corporatize Indian campuses.
The revised rules grant state governors increased authority in the selection
of vice-chancellors. For the first time, the new draft regulations allow
industry experts and public sector veterans to be considered for these
positions. This marks a departure from the long-standing practice of
exclusively appointing academicians and introduces corporate influence into
the academic arena.

 

Furthermore, the draft regulations do not specify the maximum number of
direct teaching hours per week for teachers, hinting at a dangerous ploy to
increase workload. The draft is also silent on the reservation of teaching
posts. By withdrawing its own responsibility from research and paving the
way for private actors in academics, the government is pushing the education
system toward a market-driven, corporate-controlled model.

 

The Draft UGC Regulations, 2025, fail to address the issue of discrimination
in higher education institutions. Instead, they dilute and weaken existing
mechanisms, particularly those aimed at eradicating discrimination against
marginalized communities in higher education. The regulations remain silent
on caste-based discrimination on university campuses. Additionally, some
provisions create avenues for victimizing complainants. The regulations
empower the UGC to remove institutions from the list of recognized
universities, prohibit the granting of funds for non-compliance, and take
additional punitive actions on a case-to-case basis. This will further
concentrate power in the hands of the BJP-led central government, enabling
it to control state universities and autonomous institutions.

 

The 24th Party Congress of the CPI(M) demands the enactment of the Rohith
Vemula Act to combat caste discrimination in campuses, the implementation of
GSCASH in all educational institutions, the passage of a law ensuring campus
democracy, and the strengthening of minority and SC/ST cells in
universities. The current draft regulations released by the UGC do not serve
their stated purpose; rather, they function as a tool to pressure
universities. The Party Congress demands that the UGC refrain from such
attempts to undermine the quality and autonomy of universities and
educational institutes, as well as the spirit of the Constitutional
arrangement.

 

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