UGC Bars Psychology, Nutrition, Healthcare Courses Online

• UGC bans healthcare and allied programs via ODL/online from 2025.
• Existing approvals will be withdrawn, and no new admissions allowed.
• The aim is to maintain quality in professional education.

Officials report that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has instructed all higher education institutions to stop providing programmes in healthcare and related fields, such as psychology and nutrition, via Open and Distance Learning or online mode starting from the 2025 academic session.

The prohibition is in effect for programs governed by the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act of 2021. These encompass psychology, microbiology, food and nutrition studies, biotechnology, clinical nutrition, and dietetics.

“No higher educational institutions (HEIs) shall be permitted to offer any allied and healthcare programmes covered in NCAHP Act, 2021, including psychology as specialisation under Open and Distance Learning and online mode, from the academic session July-August, 2025 and onwards. Any recognition already granted to HEIs for offering such programmes for the academic session July-August 2025 and onwards shall be withdrawn by the UGC,” UGC secretary Manish Joshi said.

The institutions have been instructed not to enroll any students in these programs for the forthcoming academic session. The choice arises due to worries about the quality benchmarks in vocational education.

“In the case of programmes with multiple specialisation such as Bachelor of Arts (English, Hindi, Punjabi, Economics, History, Mathematics, Public Administration, Philosophy, Political Science, Statistics, Human Rights and Duties, Sanskrit, Psychology, Geography, Sociology, Women Studies), then only those specialisation covered in NCAHP Act, 2021 shall be withdrawn," he added.

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“The decision follows recommendations from the 24th Distance Education Bureau Working Group meeting held in April 2025 and was formalised during recent commission meeting," Mr. Joshi said.

The higher education authority forbids providing professional and practical-oriented courses via distance education and online formats. These encompass engineering, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, architecture, physiotherapy, applied arts, paramedical fields, agriculture, horticulture, hotel management, catering technology, visual arts, and law, among other disciplines.