UGC’s 2026 Equity Regulations: A New Push To Tackle Caste Discrimination On Indian Campuses |
One persistent and normalised aspect of Indian society at all levels is its caste hierarchy and the graded respect and humiliation that it forces people to accept down the hierarchy. Not surprisingly, our higher education institutions (HEIs) are also not immune from these practices on their campuses.
UGC regulations to address discrimination
To deal with caste-based and other similar harassment of students from marginalised backgrounds, for the first time, the UGC issued the Promotion of Equity In Higher Educational Institutions Regulations in 2012.
The regulations defined discrimination in a wide-ranging manner: any distinction, exclusion, limitation or preference which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing equality of treatment in education in particular, depriving a student or a group of students on the basis of caste, creed, religion, language, ethnicity, gender or disability of access to education of any type or at any level.
The regulations prohibited discrimination against students from marginalised groups in admission and unfair evaluation and their harassment on campus. It barred labelling of students by caste/community, their segregation in hostels and other facilities, and publicising names of reserved category students.
Further, HEIs were required to set up an equal opportunity cell to ensure equal access and opportunities for all students. All complaints of harassment and discrimination were required to be resolved within 60 days. These regulations applied to all HEIs in India.
Limitations of the 2012 framework
However, these regulations........