Following massive backlash over the University Grants Commission’s Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations, 2026, the Ministry of Education is reportedly expected to issue a detailed response to what it termed as ‘misinformation’ surrounding the regulations.
The regulations notified on January 13, 2026, replace the earlier 2012 framework and claim to institutionalise procedures to deal with ‘discrimination’ in Indian colleges and universities.
However, after facing widespread criticism and protests over the new regulations, the Ministry of Education is reportedly now preparing to issue a clarification. As per reports, the government will offer assurance that the regulations will not be misused and will provide a mechanism to prevent discrimination on educational campuses.
UGC regulations called biased, because ‘discrimination’ is defined only against specific groups
The regulations provide an expanded definition of discrimination, including caste, religion, gender, place of birth, and disability. They also include OBC students and aim to ensure their representation on institutional equality committees. Under the regulations, discrimination against students from the SC, ST and OBC communities will be considered a crime and will attract strict action.
The stated goal of the Regulation is, “to eradicate discrimination only on the basis of religion, race, gender, place of birth, caste, or disability, particularly against the members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, socially and educationally backward classes, economically weaker sections, persons with disabilities, or any of them, and to promote full equity and inclusion amongst the stakeholders in higher education institutions”. To achieve the stated goal, the UGC mandates the creation of Equal Opportunity Centres, Equity Committees, round-the-clock helplines, and time-bound grievance redressal systems across all higher education institutions in the country.
Regulations face flak for excluding general caste students from protection
The regulations attracted massive flak on social media for excluding students of the general category from protection. People voiced fears of the new rules being misused against students from the general category. Several students from the general category organised protests against the regulations across college campuses, calling them one-sided and prone to misuse. People opposing the new rules have argued that the regulations protect only students from the reserved categories and do not recognise discrimination against students from the general category.
Petition filed in the Supreme Court challenging the UGC regulations
Meanwhile, a petition has been filed against the UGC regulations in the Supreme Court for excluding general category students from filing complaints under the grievance redressal mechanism.
Petition filed in Supreme Court challenging the UGC’s 2026 ‘Promotion of Equity in Higher Education’ Regulations, which restrict caste-based discrimination grievance mechanisms to SC, ST and OBC categories, on the ground that the exclusion of others violates Articles 14, 15 and… pic.twitter.com/nkws5tiC3A
— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) January 27, 2026
The petition argued that the regulations are based on the presumption that caste-based discrimination operates only in one direction and that persons belonging to general castes cannot be subjected to caste-based hostility. “The impugned provision proceeds on an untenable presumption that caste-based discrimination can operate only in one direction, thereby foreclosing, as a matter of law, the possibility that persons belonging to general or upper castes may also be subjected to caste-based hostility, abuse, intimidation, or institutional prejudice,” the plea stated, contending that the regulation encourages hostility against non-reserved categories.
The petition, filed by advocate Vineet Jindal, calls the absence of grievance redressal mechanism for GC students in the UGC regulations as a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India.
