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Stalin backs new UGC regulations
Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin supports UGC 2026 regulations, criticizing the BJP for rising student suicides and discrimination, urging stronger enforcement.
Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Thursday backed the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations 2026 and attacked the Union government saying that since the BJP came to power there has been a rise in student suicides within India’s higher education institutions particularly among SC and ST students accompanied by repeated attacks and harassment against students from South India, Kashmir, and minority communities.
The UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026 is a delayed but welcome step in reforming a higher education system scarred by deep rooted discrimination and institutional apathy, Stalin said. “If the Union BJP Government is serious about preventing student deaths, ending discrimination, and reducing dropout rates among students from backward communities, these regulations must not only be strengthened but also revised to address their structural gaps, and enforced with real accountability,” Stalin said talking about student suicides.
Cases like the suicide of PhD student Rohith Vemula in 2016 in the University of Hyderabad, Stalin said where even vice chancellors faced allegations, “make it difficult to see how Equity Committees chaired by institutional heads can function independently, especially when many higher education institutions are led by RSS supporters.”
Stalin’s support comes amid a national debate over UGC’s newly notified equity regulations, which mandate the establishment of equal opportunity centres and equity committees in universities, colleges and deemed institutions to address complaints of discrimination and promote inclusion.
He added that the goals of dismantling caste discrimination and the inclusion of OBCs within the new framework, deserves support. The present backlash against the new provisions, Stalin said, is driven by the same regressive mindset similar to the one seen during the implementation of reservations based on the Mandal Commission recommendations. He urged the Union Government to not allow such pressure to dilute these regulations or their core objectives.
