Uproar intensifies against new UGC equity regulations
The UGC’s new Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations, 2026, mandate all higher education institutes in India to establish equity panels, committees, helplines, and squads focused on addressing caste-based discrimination, particularly against SC/ST/OBC students, PwD, and women. Notified on January 13, 2026, these rules replace 2012 guidelines amid a 118% rise in complaints from 173 cases in 2017-18 to 378 in 2023-24, with non-compliance risking funding cuts or de-recognition.
Institutions must form Equal Opportunity Centres and Equity Committees with reserved category representatives (excluding general category), conduct awareness programs, and report annually to UGC. Equity Squads monitor campuses for discrimination, backed by 24/7 helplines.
General category students and academics criticize the rules for lacking safeguards against false complaints, potentially enabling misuse without penalties. Critics argue the panels’ composition discriminates against unreserved students, violates Article 14 equality, and could stifle free expression via broad “discrimination” definitions.
Campus protests, online hashtags like #UGCRollback, resignations by officials and political leaders (e.g., in UP), and calls for rollback from figures like Mohandas Pai have intensified the backlash. Supporters see it as essential post-cases like Rohith Vemula, but opponents warn of “reverse bias” and constitutional challenges.
