The government on Monday introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 in the parliament that aims to overhaul the higher education by setting up a single regulator for higher education that will set standards, streamline governance, and provide policy directions. While presenting the bill in the Lok Sabha, education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the bill will facilitate universities and other higher educational institutions to became independent self-governing institutions. “It will promote excellence through a robust and transparent system of accreditation and autonomy,” he said.
Broadly, the bill will set up an umbrella body with three arms to handle regulatory, standard-setting and accreditation functions. Through this legislation, the proposed 14-member apex body will replace replacing existing bodies such as the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
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What does the bill propose?
“The expansion of higher education system has seen establishment of several statutory regulatory bodies, requiring multiple approvals by higher educational institutions, inspections, etc., resulting in over-regulation of the sector and duplication of control. There exists a strong need for providing simplified regulatory systems for higher educational institutions in the country,” the bill said.
The regulatory body that would be set up under the Act will also have the powers to slap penalties on higher education institutions that will range from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 2 crore. “For the purposes of adjudging the penalties under this Act, the regulatory council shall set up an adjudicatory mechanism,” the bill said. Additionally, the power to provide grants to the educational institutions, which is being handled by UGC and AICTE, will be shifted to the education ministry.
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Congress registers protest
However, the bill was opposed by the Congressleader Manish Tewari who said that it will result in excessive centralisation of higher education and the bill violates the constitutional distribution of legislative competence.
“The bill goes far beyond standards and intrudes into administration, affiliation, establishment, and closure of university campuses. It suffers from excessive delegation of legislative power. The overriding clause given by this bill coupled with the powers to supersede existing regulatory structures raises serious concerns of arbitrariness and legal uncertainty impacting institutions established under state laws,” Tewari said.
Meanwhile, experts said that the implementation of the law remains crucial. “For this reform to translate into real impact, industry integration, skill-based education, and the inclusion of regional and grassroots institutions must remain central to its implementation,” Kuldip Sarma, co-founder and Pro-Chancellor, Medhavi Skills University.
“Bringing multiple regulatory processes under one framework will require detailed guidelines, clear role definitions and strong coordination between all stakeholders,” said Rohit Gupta, COO and founder of College Vidya. |
