UGC bans online and ODL healthcare courses from July 2025 session

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a directive to higher education institutions (HEIs) to discontinue offering healthcare and allied programmes under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021, through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) or online mode. The ban will take effect from the 2025-26 academic session, starting July-August.

The decision follows recommendations from the 24th Distance Education Bureau Working Group meeting held in April 2025 and was formalised during the UGC’s 592nd meeting on July 23, 2025.

The ban targets specialisations



such as Psychology, Microbiology, Food and Nutrition Science, Biotechnology, Clinical Nutrition, and Dietetics.

Institutions that already received recognition to offer these programmes in online or ODL mode will have it withdrawn.

HEIs have also been instructed not to admit any new students into these courses from the 2025-26 session onwards. In multi-specialisation degrees, only healthcare-related components will be affected.

For example, a Bachelor of Arts programme with multiple majors including Psychology will see only the Psychology stream removed from ODL or online delivery.