Overview

• From the July–August 2025 academic session, higher education institutions are prohibited from offering NCAHP-listed allied healthcare programmes through ODL or online mode.
• UGC will withdraw recognitions already granted for these programmes for 2025 and beyond, and institutions have been told not to admit students for the affected courses.
• The restriction covers psychology, microbiology, food and nutrition science, biotechnology, clinical nutrition and dietetics, among other disciplines under the NCAHP Act, 2021.
• In degree programmes with multiple specialisations, only the specialisations covered by the NCAHP Act will be removed from distance and online offerings, leaving other majors intact.
• The decision follows an April 2025 Distance Education Bureau working-group recommendation and was formalised in a recent UGC commission meeting, with officials citing training quality and patient care.