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Congress General Secretary, Jairam Ramesh, on Friday alleged that the intellectual integrity in premier universities is threatened by the 'virus' of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) 'predilection for conspiracy theories and infantile name-calling'.
The Congress leader in a post on X claimed that the new University Grant Commission (UGC) rules are intended solely to promote 'non-serious politicking' on campuses. https://x.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/1880114058986442843 Ramesh, who is Congress general secretary in charge of communications, cited a media report that claimed that several Delhi University faculty members have condemned a discussion on a book held on campus on Thursday. "Intellectual integrity in our premier universities is threatened by the virus of the RSS's predilection for conspiracy theories and infantile name-calling," he said in an X post. "An event for a blatantly partisan and non-serious book was held on Delhi University premises and attended by no less than the vice chancellor himself. This is an absolute disgrace to what has been a premier educational institution but which now functions as an extended arm of the RSS," Ramesh added. "The new UGC rules, which allow for greater central oversight of the appointment of VCs and the appointment of non-academic individuals, are intended solely to promote such non-serious politicking on campuses," Ramesh further said. Ramesh had earlier termed the draft UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges as 'disastrous'. "University Grants Commission (UGC) has recently published the draft UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment and Promotion of Teachers and Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2025," Ranmesh said in an X post on January 1. "Removal of the 10% ceiling on contractual professorships, opening the gates for the large-scale contractualization of teaching in higher education. This is going to destroy the quality of our institutions and the spirit of academic independence," he added. "The rules have also been amended to allow non-academics to be nominated vice chancellors, a move that is fully intended to enable the appointment of RSS apparatchiks in positions of power over academia," the Congress leader said. (ANI)
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