Industry experts as well as senior professionals from public administration, public policy and public sector undertakings may soon be eligible for appointment as vice-chancellors, according to draft norms of the University Grants Commission (UGC). The new guidelines will also amend the criteria for appointment of faculty members in universities, allowing those holding PG degrees in Masters of Engineering (ME) and Masters of Technology (MTech) with at least 55 per cent marks to be recruited directly at the assistant professor level without clearing the UGC NET.

The draft norms will also permit candidates to teach based on their highest academic specialisation. For example, candidates with a PhD in chemistry, a bachelor’s in maths and a master’s degree in physics will now be eligible to teach chemistry. Similarly, individuals who clear the National Eligibility Test in a subject different from their previous academic focus can teach the subject in which they qualified for NET.

According to UGC Chief Jagdish Kumar, the UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025, will replace the guidelines of 2018. Earlier, candidates for the post of Vice Chancellor were required to be such eminent academicians who had at least 10 years of experience as a professor in a university or in a major research or academic administrative role. Now, persons with at least 10 years of senior level experience in industry, public administration, public policy or public sector undertakings with a good academic record are also eligible for the post of Vice Chancellor.