Centre to table Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill this week to overhaul higher education
NEW DELHI: The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill , 2025, which seeks to replace the UGC, AICTE and NCTE with an apex umbrella body, is expected to be introduced in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament this week. The Bill proposes the creation of the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan , which will have three councils to streamline governance and oversight in Indias higher education sector. The legislation, earlier known as the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill, is aligned with recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and is expected to be tabled during the current session. The Union Cabinet approved the HECI Bill, now renamed the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan , on Friday. The proposed law provides for the constitution of the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan along with three councils the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Viniyaman Parishad (Regulatory Council), the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Gunvatta Parishad (Accreditation Council) and the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Manak Parishad (Standards Council). The commission will consist of a chairperson and up to 12 members. Of the twelve members, two shall be eminent and distinguished academicians not below the rank of professor from the state's higher educational institutions, and five shall be eminent experts, the bill states. According to the bill, the Standards Council will ensure synchronisation and determination of academic standards in higher educational institutions, while the Regulatory Council ensures co-ordination and maintenance of standards in higher educational institutions, and the Accreditation Council will be an accrediting body to supervise and oversee an independent ecosystem of accreditation. Of these, the Regulatory Council will function as the common regulator of higher education in India. The Regulatory Council requires full online and offline public self-disclosure of all finances, audits, procedures, infrastructure, faculty, courses, educational outcomes and accreditation-related information by higher educational institutions on a public website maintained by the Council and on the websites of institutions. The function of the bill also includes specifying standards for select foreign universities to operate in India and facilitating high-performing Indian Universities to set up campuses in other countries with the prior approval of the central government. The Bill also proposes that the Council of Architecture (CoA), established under the Architects Act, 1972, will function as a Professional Standard Setting Body (PSSB), as envisioned in the NEP, 2020. As a Member of the Standards Council, the CoA will participate in framing the curricula, laying down academic standards and coordinating between teaching, research and extension of its domain or discipline. Thus, CoA would set the standards or expectations in its particular field of learning and practice while having no regulatory role. The CoA will have representation in all three Councils proposed to be established under the proposed legislation. The Bill provides for repealing the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, the All India Council for Technical Education Act, 1987 and the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993. It further states that membership of the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan and the Councils include academicians, domain experts and representatives from states, union territories, state higher educational institutions and Institutions of national importance. Stating its objectives, the bill proposes that it will pave the path for Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in the higher education sector and create a talent pool of students who will help the country in achieving the vision towards Viksit Bharat . This will facilitate empowerment of youth by developing critical and innovative thinking leading to holistic development, provide opportunities for inter-disciplinary and flexible education, thus permitting continuous reskilling and upskilling. The students will also have access to a fair, transparent and robust grievance redressal mechanism. Anand Teltumbde, writing for Outlook magazine, had this to say about the bill: By replacing the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) with a single super-regulator, the government claims to be promoting autonomy, reducing red tape and fostering excellence. The reality, however, is far more sinister: unprecedented centralisation of power, systematic destruction of institutional autonomy, forced commercialisation through debt-based funding, and the effective subjugation of India's universities to direct political control, he wrote.
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