Key Takeaways
- A senior education bureaucrat and a BJP youth leader resign in protest against UGC’s draft rules for foreign universities.
- Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan calls the guidelines a “proposal,” dodging direct comment on the controversy.
- Opposition parties and student groups announce nationwide protests, calling the policy elitist and against NEP 2020.
The controversy surrounding the UGC’s draft regulations for foreign universities intensified significantly on Friday. A key bureaucrat resigned from the expert panel that framed the rules, and a senior BJP youth wing leader quit the party in protest. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan avoided direct questions on the issue.
Senior Bureaucrat Exits Expert Panel
In a major development, Gauri Shankar, Joint Secretary in the Department of Higher Education, resigned from the UGC’s expert committee. This committee was responsible for drafting the ‘Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India’ Regulations, 2023.
His resignation followed the public release of the draft, which faced immediate criticism from academics, students, and opposition parties. Critics argue the policy would commercialise and degrade India’s higher education landscape.
BJP Youth Leader Quits Party in Protest
Adding to the political fallout, Ankit Singh, the national media in-charge of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), resigned from the BJP. He cited the draft UGC regulations as his reason for leaving.
In his resignation letter to BJP President J.P. Nadda, Singh wrote that the policy would “destroy the Indian education system” and “promote cultural imperialism.” He stated the proposal contradicts the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and would create an unequal system where “only the rich will have access to quality education.”
Education Minister Calls it a “Draft Proposal”
Amid the growing protests, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan declined to comment directly. He referred to the guidelines as “only a proposal” and stated the government would consider all feedback before a final decision.
“It is a draft. We have put it in the public domain for suggestions. We will take a final decision after considering all views,” Pradhan told reporters in New Delhi.
What the Draft Regulations Propose
The draft rules permit foreign universities ranked in the global top 500 to establish campuses in India and offer full degree programs. These institutions would have autonomy over fees, faculty hiring, and curricula but would be prohibited from repatriating funds abroad.
The UGC has set a deadline of January 15, 2024, for stakeholder feedback.
Political and Student Opposition Mounts
The opposition Congress party strongly criticised the move. Senior leader Jairam Ramesh labelled it a “half-baked idea” that would create “islands of elitism.”
Major student bodies, including the Left-backed Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), have announced plans for nationwide protests against the draft policy.
