The University Grants Commission has directed higher education institutions to discontinue offering programmes in health care and allied disciplines, including psychology and nutrition, through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and online mode from the academic session beginning July–August 2025.
The ban has been imposed on all courses listed under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021. These include psychology, microbiology, food and nutrition science, biotechnology, clinical nutrition and dietetics.
“No higher educational institutions (HEIs) shall be permitted to offer any allied and health care 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. 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already granted to HEIs for offering such programmes for the academic session July-August 2025 and onwards shall be withdrawn by the UGC,” said UGC secretary Manish Joshi.
Joshi further clarified that in the case of multidisciplinary degrees, only those specialisations covered under the NCAHP Act will be withdrawn. “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Psychology, Geography, Sociology, Women Studies), only those specialisation covered in NCAHP Act, 2021, shall be withdrawn,” he added.
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According to the directive, no institution shall admit students in such courses from the upcoming academic session.
The decision stems from concerns about quality standards in professional training. “The decision follows recommendations from the 24th Distance Education Bureau Working Group meeting held in April 2025 and was formalised during the recent commission meeting,” Joshi said.
The higher education regulator already prohibits the offering of professional and practical-based courses through distance learning and online modes. These include engineering, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, architecture, physiotherapy, applied arts, paramedical sciences, agriculture, horticulture, hotel management, catering technology, visual arts and law.
The latest directive effectively widens the ambit of the restriction to health and allied sciences, a move seen as a measure to safeguard academic rigour and ensure that students in professional streams receive adequate practical exposure.
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