'UGC regulations will override State law'

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: States that do not incorporate the UGC Regulations 2010 into the Acts and Statutes of their universities will find themselves in trouble, legally, noted educationist and the chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT, Kanpur, M. Anandakrishnan said here on Thursday. He was talking to The Hindu on the sidelines of an all-party meeting on educational reforms convened by Education Minister M.A. Baby at the Kerala State Higher Education Council.

It is pertinent to note that the Regulations are not mere guidelines. They have been tabled in Parliament and have been put in the gazette. So, if by December 31, 2010, if the States do not incorporate these regulations into the laws of their universities, any appointments made after that date run the risk of being annulled by the courts, he said. The UGC's Regulations is a Central law. It overrides any understanding or arrangement or law in any State. But many States have not given this issue the consideration it deserves. They just do not know the kind of trouble that awaits them. I was told that Kerala passed an order on the Regulations and then stayed it,” he said.

The Anandakrishnan committee set up by the Higher Education Council to suggest reforms in the Acts of Kerala's universities had, in its final report, noted that the “immediate incorporation of the Regulations in the University Acts/Statutes/Regulations is the single-most important step that can be taken to improve the quality of higher education.