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Tamil Nadu CM Stalin backs UGC regulations on equity in educational institutes
Chief minister MK Stalin said the regulations should be strengthened and revised to address structural gaps and enforced with real accountability
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Thursday backed the University Grants Commission (UGC)’s regulations on equity in educational institutes, calling it a delayed but welcome step in reforming a system scarred by deep-rooted discrimination and institutional apathy.
He attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying there has been a rise in student suicides at higher education institutions, particularly among Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students, and repeated attacks and harassment of students from South India, Kashmir, and minority communities since it came to power at the Centre.
He said the regulations should be strengthened and revised to address structural gaps and enforced with real accountability if the BJP government is serious about preventing student deaths, ending discrimination, and reducing drop-out rates among students from backward communities.
Stalin, whose comments came before the Supreme Court stayed the regulations pertaining to caste discrimination definition, cited cases such as University of Hyderabad PhD student Rohith Vemula’s suicide in 2016 and said even vice chancellors faced allegations. He questioned how equity committees chaired by institutional heads can function independently, especially when supporters of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJP’s ideological fount, lead many higher education institutions.
Stalin said the goals of dismantling caste discrimination and the inclusion of Other Backward Classes within the new framework deserve support. He said the backlash against the new provisions is driven by a regressive mindset similar to that seen during the implementation of reservations based on the Mandal Commission recommendations in the 1990s. He urged the Union government to overcome pressure to dilute these regulations or their core objectives.
The higher education regulator updated its 2012 rules on anti-discrimination guidelines, and asked universities, colleges, and deemed universities to establish equal opportunity centres with equity committees to handle discrimination complaints and promote inclusion. Upper-caste groups have protested against the guidelines.
