Majority of Central Universities yet to appoint Professors of Practice despite UGC guidelines

Central universities are reportedly showing low adoption of UGC guidelines to recruit Professors of Practice. As many as 80% of central universities are yet to engage PoPs. Read below for more details.

University Grants Commission set out guidelines for hiring Professors of Practice three years back. However, most of the central universities are yet to follow these guidelines.

Ministry of Education has recently shared that four out of five central universities have not hired PoPs. private and deemed universities on other hand are the followers of the scheme. According to data, by January 2026, 349 higher education bodies nationwide collectively engaged with 1,841 PoPs only which is too low as per the expectations.

UGC Guidelines on PoPs

One of the objectives mentioned in guidelines says, "To bring in distinguished experts from various fields such as engineering, science, technology, entrepreneurship, management, chartered accountancy (CA), commerce, social sciences, media, literature, fine arts, civil services, armed forces, legal profession and public administration into the academic institutions."
"A formal academic qualification is not considered essential for this position if they have exemplary professional practice in lieu. These experts will also be exempted from the requirement of publications and other eligibility criteria stipulated for the recruitment of faculty members at the Professor level. However, they should possess the skills to carry out the duties and responsibilities specified in the following section," added guidelines.

Tamil Nadu at Top in engaging with PoPs

As per the data shared, Tamil Nadu engaged 395 PoPs across 37 HEIs across the state by Janu 5, 2026, Maharashtra followed with 193 PoP in 36 institutions.

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