New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed higher education institutions to discontinue psychology, nutrition, and other healthcare-related programmes in online and distance learning (ODL) mode starting from the July-August 2025 academic session. The order, issued under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021, applies to courses such as microbiology, food and nutrition science, biotechnology, clinical nutrition, and dietetics. Psychology, when offered as a specialisation, will also be restricted.
UGC Secretary Manish Joshi confirmed that no institution will be allowed to admit new students to these programmes, and recognitions already granted for the 2025 session will be withdrawn. In degree programmes with multiple specialisations, only those subjects listed under the NCAHP Act will be barred, while other disciplines will continue.
Officials said the decision is aimed at maintaining quality in professional training and protecting patient safety, amid growing demand for healthcare education. The move follows recommendations of the 24th Distance Education Bureau Working Group in April 2025 and was ratified in a recent commission meeting.
The regulator already restricts several professional and practice-based disciplines from being taught through ODL or online mode, including medicine, engineering, nursing, pharmacy, law, architecture, and agriculture. With this directive, healthcare and allied programmes will now be added to the list, tightening the framework for professional education delivery in India.
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