UGC issues new regulations for students' grievance redressal
The University Grants Commission (Redressal of Grievances of Students) Regulations, 2023 aims to handle student grievances more effectively and easily.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has introduced the University Grants Commission (Redressal of Grievances of Students) Regulations, 2023 to simplify and improve the mechanism for handling student grievances.
The new regulations supersede the University Grants Commission (Redress of Grievances of Students) Regulations, 2019, and require all higher education institutions to establish a Students' Grievances Redressal Committee (SGRC) and appoint Ombudsperson(s) at the university level.
These regulations have been revised in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar stated that the new regulations aim to provide an additional forum for redressal of complaints against caste-based discrimination.
However, they do not replace the other regulations and guidelines issued by the UGC to ensure that no student is discriminated against based on their caste, creed, religion, language, ethnicity, gender, or disabilities.
The 2019 regulations also included a provision for grievances related to alleged discrimination against Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minorities, or persons with disabilities. This provision has been retained in the new regulations.
To make the new regulations inclusive, the UGC officials have ensured that the grievance committees have representation from women, SC, ST, and OBC members. This was not provided for in the previous regulations.
The UGC has been providing instructions to universities to prevent caste-based discrimination and requires them to report on the activity monitoring portal regarding their actions taken to prevent it.
The Equal Opportunity Cell (EOC) scheme for universities and colleges, which was initiated in 2012, is still operational with 1,818 EOCs established in universities and colleges so far.
Source: India Today
