[11th
April 2023] In exercise of the powers
conferred under clause (g) of sub-section (1) of Section 26 of the University
Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956), and in supersession of the University
Grants Commission (Redress of Grievances of Students) Regulations, 2019, the
University Grants Commission hereby makes the following regulations, namely - (a)
These regulations shall be called as the
University Grants Commission (Redressal of Grievances of Students) Regulations,
2023. (b)
They shall apply to all higher education
institutions, whether established or incorporated by or under a Central Act or
a State Act, and every institution recognized by the University Grants
Commission under clause (f) of Section 2 of the University Grants Commission
Act, 1956 and to all institutions deemed to be a University declared as such
under Section 3 therein and to all higher education institutions affiliated to
a University. (c)
They shall come into force from the date of
their publication in the Official Gazette. (1)
In these regulations, unless the context
otherwise requires- (a)
"Act" means the University Grants
Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956); (b)
"aggrieved student" means a
student, who has any complaint in the matters relating to or connected with the
grievances defined under these regulations. (c)
"college" means any institution, so
defined in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 12A of the Act. (d)
"Commission" means the University
Grants Commission established under section 4 of the UGC Act, 1956. (e)
"declared admission policy" means
such policy, including the process there under, for admission to a course or
program of study as may be offered by the institution by publication in the
prospectus of the institution. (f)
"grievance" means, and includes,
complaint(s) made by an aggrieved student in respect of the following, namely: (i)
admission contrary to merit determined in
accordance with the declared admission policy of the institution; (ii)
irregularity in the process under the
declared admission policy of the institution; (iii)
refusal to admit in accordance with the
declared admission policy of the institution; (iv)
non-publication of a prospectus by the institution,
in accordance with the provisions of these regulations; (v)
publication by the institution of any
information in the prospectus, which is false or misleading, and not based on
facts; (vi)
withholding of, or refusal to return, any
document in the form of certificates of degree, diploma or any other award or
other document deposited by a student for the purpose of seeking admission in
such institution, with a view to induce or compel such student to pay any fee
or fees in respect of any course or program of study which such student does
not intend to pursue; (vii)
demand of money in excess of that specified
to be charged in the declared admission policy of the institution; (viii)
violation, by the institution, of any law for
the time being in force in regard to reservation of seats in admission to
different category of students; (ix)
non-payment or delay in payment of
scholarships or financial aid admissible to any student under the declared
admission policy of such institution, or under the conditions, if any, prescribed
by the Commission; (x)
delay by the institution in the conduct of
examinations, or declaration of results, beyond the schedule specified in the
academic calendar of the institution, or in such calendar prescribed by the
Commission; (xi)
failure by the institution to provide student
amenities as set out in the prospectus, or is required to be extended by the
institution under any provisions of law for the time being in force; (xii)
non-transparent or unfair practices adopted
by the institution for the evaluation of students; (xiii)
delay in, or denial of, the refund of fees
due to a student who withdraws admission within the time mentioned in the
prospectus, subject to guidelines, if any, issued by the Commission, from time
to time; (xiv) complaints
of alleged discrimination of students from the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled
Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Women, Minorities or persons with disabilities
categories; (xv)
denial of quality education as promised at
the time of admission or required to be provided; (xvi) harassment
or victimization of a student, other than cases of harassment, which are to be
proceeded against under the penal provisions of any law for the time being in
force; (xvii) any
action initiated/taken contrary to the statutes, ordinances, rules,
regulations, or guidelines of the institution; and (xviii)
any action initiated/taken contrary to the
regulations and/or guidelines made/issued by the Commission and/or the
regulatory body concerned. (g)
"Institution" means a university as
defined in sub-section (f) of Section 2 of the UGC Act, an institution declared
as institution deemed to be university under Section 3 of the Act, and a
college as defined under section 12A (1) (b) of the University Grants
Commission Act, 1956. (h)
"Ombudsperson" means the
Ombudsperson appointed under these regulations; (i)
"Prospectus" means and includes any
publication, whether in print or otherwise, issued for providing fair and
transparent information, relating to an institution, to the general public
(including to those seeking admission in such institution) by such institution
or any authority or person authorized by such institution to do so; (j)
"Student" means a person enrolled,
or seeking admission to be enrolled, in any institution, to which these
regulations apply, through any mode i.e., Formal / Open and Distance Learning
(ODL) / Online; (k)
"Students Grievance Redressal Committee
(SGRC)" means a committee constituted under these regulations, at the
level of an institution; and (l)
"University" means a University so
defined in clause (f) of section 2 of the Act or, where the context may be, an
institution deemed to be University declared as such under Section 3 thereof. (2)
Words and expressions used and not defined in
these regulations but defined in the University Grants Commission Act, 1956
shall have the same meanings as respectively assigned to them in the Act. (1)
Every institution, shall publish and/or
upload on its website, before expiry of at least sixty days prior to the date
of the commencement of the admission to any of its courses or programs of
study, a prospectus containing the following for the information of persons
intending to seek admission to such institution and the general public, namely: (a)
the list of programs of study and courses
offered along with the broad outlines of the syllabus specified by the
appropriate statutory authority or by the institution, as the case may be, for
every course or program of study, including teaching hours, practical sessions
and other assignments; (b)
the number of seats approved by the
appropriate statutory authority in respect of each course or program of study
for the academic year for which admission is proposed to be made; (c)
the conditions of educational qualifications
and eligibility including the minimum and maximum age limit of persons for
admission as a student in a particular course or program of study, specified by
the institution; (d)
the process of selection of eligible
candidates applying for such admission, including all relevant information in
regard to the details of test or examination for selecting such candidates for
admission to each course or program of study and the amount of fee prescribed
for the admission test; (e)
each component of the fee, deposits and other
charges payable by the students admitted to such institution for pursuing a
course or program of study, and the other terms and conditions of such payment; (f)
rules/regulations for imposition and
collection of any fines in specified heads or categories, minimum and maximum
fines may be imposed; (g)
the percentage of tuition fee and other
charges refundable to a student admitted in such institution in case such
student withdraws from such institution before or after completion of course or
program of study and the time within and the manner in which such refund shall
be made to that student; (h)
details of the teaching faculty, including
their educational qualifications, along with their type of appointment
(Regular/visiting/guest) and teaching experience of every member thereof; (i)
information with regard to physical and
academic infrastructure and other facilities including hostel accommodation and
its fee, library, hospital, or industry wherein the practical training is to be
imparted to the students and in particular the amenities accessible by students
on being admitted to the institution; (j)
all relevant instructions in regard to
maintaining the discipline by students within or outside the campus of the
institution, and, in particular such discipline relating to the prohibition of
ragging of any student or students and the consequences thereof and for
violating the provisions of any regulation in this behalf made by the relevant
statutory regulatory authority; and (k)
Any other information as may be specified by
the Commission. Provided that an institution
shall publish/upload information referred to in clauses (a) to (k) of this
regulation, on its website, and the attention of prospective students and the
general public shall be drawn to such publication being on the website through
advertisements displayed prominently indifferent newspapers and through other
media. (2)
Every institution shall fix the price of each
printed copy of the prospectus, being not more than the reasonable cost of its
publication and distribution and no profit be made out of the publication,
distribution, or sale of prospectus. (i)
A complaint from an aggrieved student
relating to the institution shall be addressed to the Chairperson, Students
Grievance Redressal Committee (SGRC). (ii)
Every Institution shall constitute such
number of Students Grievance Redressal Committees (SGRC), as may be required to
consider grievances of the students, with the following composition, namely: (a)
A Professor – Chairperson (b)
Four Professors/Senior Faculty Members of the
Institution as Members. (c)
A representative from among students to be
nominated on academic merit/excellence in sports/performance in co-curricular
activities-Special Invitee. (iii)
Atleast one member or the Chairperson shall
be a woman and atleast one member or the Chairperson shall be from SC/ST/OBC
category. (iv)
The term of the chairperson and members shall
be for a period of two years. (v)
The term of the special invitee shall be one
year. (vi)
The quorum for the meeting including the
Chairperson, but excluding the special invitee, shall be three. (vii)
In considering the grievances before it, the
SGRC shall follow principles of natural justice. (viii)
The SGRC shall send its report with
recommendations, if any, to the competent authority of the institution
concerned and a copy thereof to the aggrieved student, preferably within a
period of 15 working days from the date of receipt of the complaint. (ix)
Any student aggrieved by the decision of the
Students Grievance Redressal Committee may prefer an appeal to the
Ombudsperson, within a period of fifteen days from the date of receipt of such
decision. (i)
Each University shall appoint Ombudsperson
for redressal of grievances of students of the university and
colleges/institutions affiliated with the university under these regulations. (ii)
There shall be one or more part-time
functionaries designated as Ombudspersons to hear, and decide on, appeals
preferred against the decisions of the SGRCs. (iii)
The Ombudsperson shall be a
retiredVice-Chancellor or a retired Professor (who has worked as Dean/HOD) and
has 10 years experience as a Professor at State/Central
Universities/Institutions of National Importance/Deemed to be Universities or
aformer District Judge. (iv)
The Ombudsperson shall not, at the time of
appointment, during one year before appointment, or in the course of his/her
tenure as Ombudsperson, be in conflict of interest with the Institution where
his/her personal relationship, professional affiliations or financial interest
may compromise or reasonably appear to compromise, the independence of judgment
towards the Institution. (v)
The Ombudsperson shall be appointed for a
period of three years or until he/she attains the age of 70 years, whichever is
earlier, from the date of assuming office, and shall be eligible for
reappointment for another one term. (vi)
For conducting the hearings, the Ombudsperson
shall be paid a sitting fee, per diem, in accordance with the norms fixed by
the respective university and shall, in addition, be eligible for reimbursement
of the expenditure incurred on conveyance. (vii)
The University may remove the Ombudsperson
from office, on charges of proven misconduct or misbehaviour. (viii)
No order of removal of Ombudsperson shall be
made except after an inquiry made in this regard by a person, not below the
rank of a retired judge of the High Court in which a reasonable opportunity of
being heard is given to the Ombudsperson. (i)
The Ombudsperson shall hear appeals from an
aggrieved student, only after the student has availed all other remedies
provided under these regulations. (ii)
While issues of malpractices in the conduct
of examination or in the process of evaluation may be referred to the
Ombudsperson, no appeal or application for revaluation or re-totalling of
answer sheets from an examination, shall be entertained by the Ombudsperson
unless specific irregularity materially affecting the outcome or specific
instance of discrimination is indicated. (iii)
The Ombudsperson may avail assistance of any
person, as amicus curiae, for hearing complaints of alleged discrimination. (iv)
The Ombudsperson shall make all efforts to
resolve the grievances within a period of 30 days of receiving the appeal from
the aggrieved student(s). (i)
Each institution shall, within a period of
three months from the date of issue of this notification, have an online portal
where any aggrieved student may submit an application seeking redressal of
grievance. (ii)
On receipt of an online complaint, the
institution shall refer the complaint to the appropriate Students Grievance
Redressal Committee, along with its comments within 15 days of receipt of
complaint on the online portal. (iii)
The Students Grievance Redressal Committee,
as the case may be, shall fix a date for hearing the complaint which shall be
communicated to the institution and the aggrieved student. (iv)
An aggrieved student may appear either in
person or authorize a representative to present the case. (v)
Grievances not resolved by the Students
Grievance Redressal Committee within the time period provided in these
regulations may be referred to the Ombudsperson by the university. (vi)
Institutions shall extend co-operation to the
Ombudsperson or the Student Grievance Redressal Committee(s), in early
redressal of grievances. (vii)
The Ombudsperson shall, after giving
reasonable opportunities of being heard to the parties concerned, on the
conclusion of proceedings, pass such order, with reasons thereof, as may be
deemed fit to redress the grievance and provide such relief as may be
appropriate to the aggrieved student (viii)
The institution, as well as the aggrieved
student, shall be provided with copies of the order under the signature of the
Ombudsperson. (ix)
The institution shall comply with the
recommendations of the Ombudsperson. (x)
The Ombudsperson may recommend appropriate
action against the complainant, where a complaint is found to be false or
frivolous. (a)
withdrawal of declaration of fitness to
receive grants under section 12B of the Act; (b)
withholding any grant allocated to the
Institution; (c)
declaring the institution ineligible for
consideration for any assistance under any of the general or special assistance
programs of the Commission; (d)
declaring the institution ineligible to offer
courses through Online/ODL mode for a specified period; (e)
withdrawing / withholding / suspending the
approval for offering courses through Online/ODL mode; (f)
informing the general public, including
potential candidates for admission, through a notice displayed prominently in
suitable media and posted on the website of the Commission, declaring that the
institution does not possess the minimum standards for redressal of grievances; (g)
recommend to the affiliating University for
withdrawal of affiliation, in case of a college; (h)
take such action as it may deem necessary,
appropriate and fit, in case of an institution deemed to be University; (i)
recommend to the Central Government, if
required, for withdrawal of declaration as institution deemed to be a
University, in case of an institution deemed to be University; (j)
recommend to the State Government to take
necessary and appropriate action, in case of a University established or
incorporated under a State Act; (k)
such other action as may be deemed necessary
and appropriate against an institution for non-compliance. Provided that no action
shall be taken by the Commission under this regulation, unless the institution
has been provided an opportunity of being heard to explain its position.University
Grants Commission (Redressal Of Grievances Of Students) Regulations, 2023
To provide opportunities for redressal of certain grievances of students
already enrolled in any institution, as well as those seeking admission to such
institutions, and a mechanism thereto.
An institution shall furnish, prominently, on its website and in its
prospectus, all relevant information in respect of the Students Grievance
Redressal Committee(s) coming in its purview, and the Ombudsperson for the
purpose of appeals.
The Commission shall in respect of any institution, which wilfully contravenes
these regulations or repeatedly fails to comply with the recommendation of the
Ombudsperson or the Students Grievance Redressal Committee,as the case may be,
proceed to take one or more of the following actions till the institution
complies with these Regulations to the satisfaction of the Commission, namely:
Nothing mentioned herein above in these regulations shall affect the
continuance in office, during the currency of the term, of an incumbent
Ombudsperson appointed under the provisions of the UGC (Redress of Grievances
of Students) Regulations, 2019; where after, the appointment of Ombudsperson
shall be made as per University Grants Commission (Redressal of Grievances of
Students) Regulations, 2023.