The University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced that universities and higher education institutions will no longer be allowed to offer courses in psychology, healthcare, and related fields through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) or online mode. The order will apply starting from the July August 2025 academic session.
According to UGC, the decision aims to uphold the standards of professional and practice-based education. Courses such as psychology, nutrition, dietetics, microbiology, biotechnology, food science, and clinical nutrition are included in the ban, as they fall under the purview of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021.
UGC Secretary Manish Joshi explained that any recognition already granted to institutions for offering such programmes online or via distance learning for the 2025 session and onwards will be revoked. He stated,
No higher educational institution shall be permitted to offer any allied and healthcare programmes covered under the NCAHP Act, 2021, including psychology, in ODL or online mode from the July–August 2025 session. Any approval already given will be withdrawn.
For programmes with multiple subject combinations like a Bachelor of Arts degree offering psychology alongside other subjects only those specialisations listed under the NCAHP Act will be discontinued. The remaining subjects will not be affected.
Why This Step Was Taken
Officials said the decision followed recommendations made during the 24th Distance Education Bureau Working Group meeting in April 2025, which were later approved in a full commission meeting. The regulator pointed out that courses involving practical training and professional exposure cannot be effectively delivered in remote learning formats, and thus require in-person instruction.
Courses Already Barred Earlier
UGC had previously banned a wide range of professional programmes from being offered in online and distance modes. These include engineering, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, physiotherapy, architecture, law, agriculture, horticulture, hotel management, catering technology, applied arts, paramedical sciences, and visual arts.
By extending this restriction to psychology, healthcare, and nutrition-related disciplines, UGC intends to ensure that professional education continues to provide adequate hands-on training and maintains its academic quality.
This move is expected to impact thousands of students who had planned to pursue such courses online or through distance learning. Universities will now have to modify their course offerings to align with the new directive.