BRS opposes UGC draft guidelines on appointment of VCs, urges Centre to withdraw them
The party delegation said the new guidelines would adversely impact the interests of those pursuing education in the regional languages and also affect social justice.
Hyderabad: A Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) delegation, led by working president KT Rama Rao met union HRD Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to oppose the University Grants Commission (UGC) draft guidelines, enabling the Centre to take control over the State universities. The party delegation said the new guidelines would adversely impact the interests of those pursuing education in the regional languages and also affect social justice.
The delegation submitted a six-page representation against the new UGC guidelines which usurp the rights and powers of the State governments, vesting the powers of appointing search committees for the appointment of Vice-Chancellors (VCs) in State universities, and appointing professors of its choice irrespective of teaching experience.
Speaking to mediapersons after meeting the union Minister in New Delhi on Thursday, Rama Rao said the Centre was trying to control the State in the matter of higher education through the new UGC guidelines by empowering the Governors. He criticised this move, stating that it strips state governments of their authority over higher education.
The party also raised serious concerns over the “No Suitable Candidate Found” (NSCF) rule, under which could be misused to deny admissions to reserved category research scholars and postgraduate students (OBC, SC, ST), due to political or personal reasons, and allotting the seats to candidates from other communities. He called this an assault on constitutional rights for reservation, leading to grave injustice to students from marginalised sections.
“Additionally, we also suggested to move away from academic metric-based faculty selection and instead prioritise research-oriented academicians for university faculty positions. The party also uploaded its detailed objections to the UGC website,” he said.
In a separate meeting with union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, the BRS team pressed for the extension of National Highway 365B, which was initially approved to Metpally but was abruptly terminated at Sircilla. They sought its further extension via Mid Manair Dam (Sri Raja Rajeswara Sagar) as a road-cum-railway bridge and link it to the existing NH 63 at Metpally. Gadkari assured the delegation that the demand would be examined. The extension is seen as crucial for regional connectivity and economic development in Telangana.
Meanwhile, the BRS is preparing for a critical Supreme Court hearing on Friday, where the party is pursuing disqualification petitions against 10 MLAs who defected to the ruling Congress. Rama Rao said he would be meeting the legal team to discuss the party argument, reiterating that political defection is a betrayal of voters’ mandate. He will return to Hyderabad tonight.