The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a new rule requiring higher education institutions, universities, and colleges to provide more information to students. Currently, these institutions do not include or only partially disclose details about their fee policies, including the fee structure for each course and refunds for students who withdraw. The UGC is also considering whether these institutions should include information about campus crime, such as student suicides or clashes between students. This would include details about incidents covered by the Prevention of Ragging Act, 1997, Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, and the UGC (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women Employees and Students in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2015.
Osmania University Vice-Chancellor, Prof D Ravinder, believes that students should have access to information about the fee structures of private and public universities so they can make informed decisions. He also argues that incidents of campus crime are rare in knowledge centers like universities. He points out that private universities often charge much higher fees than public universities like Osmania, which charges less than Rs 10,000 for a course. Some states, like Telangana, already have mechanisms in place to regulate fees, and Prof Ravinder suggests that a similar national mechanism should be established.
Overall, the UGC’s new regulation is seen as a step towards greater transparency and compliance at the national level.
