New Delhi — The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed all higher education institutions (HEIs) to discontinue offering programmes in healthcare and allied disciplines — including psychology and nutrition — through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) or online mode starting from the 2025 academic session.
The decision, officials said, is in line with the provisions of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021. Programmes such as psychology, microbiology, food and nutrition science, biotechnology, clinical nutrition, and dietetics will now be barred from being offered remotely.
“No higher educational institution shall be permitted to offer any allied and healthcare programmes covered under the NCAHP Act, 2021, including psychology as a specialisation, in ODL or online mode from the July-August 2025 session onwards,” UGC Secretary Manish Joshi said. “Any recognition already granted for such programmes for the upcoming session will be withdrawn.”
For courses with multiple specialisations — such as a Bachelor of Arts with combinations like English, Hindi, Economics, History, Mathematics, Sociology, or Psychology — only the specialisations falling under the NCAHP Act will be withdrawn.
Institutions have also been instructed not to admit students into these courses in the upcoming session.
The move comes amid concerns over the quality of professional training in distance and online education formats. Joshi explained that the decision is based on recommendations from the 24th Distance Education Bureau Working Group meeting held in April 2025 and later formalised by the commission.
The UGC already restricts offering professional and practical-oriented programmes like engineering, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, architecture, physiotherapy, paramedical sciences, agriculture, hotel management, catering technology, visual arts, and law through ODL and online modes.
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