- The Union Cabinet approved a bill replacing multiple higher education bodies with one regulator
- The new body will replace UGC, AICTE, and NCTE, covering non-technical, technical, and teacher education
- Named Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill, it will regulate, accredit and set professional standards
The Union Cabinet on Friday cleared a bill to replace various higher education bodies with a single entity. The single higher education regulator will replace the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). While the UGC oversees non-technical higher education, the AICTE oversees technical education and the NCTE is the regulatory body for teachers' education.
The bill was proposed in the new National Education Policy (NEP). The proposed legislation was earlier named as Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill is now called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill.
The new regulator will have three major roles regulation, accreditation and setting professional standards. The body will not have any role to play in funding. The autonomy for funding is proposed to be with the administrative ministry. Also, the new regulator body will not supervise medical and law colleges.
Efforts to make the HECI a reality were then initiated under Dharmendra Pradhan, who took over as the Union Education Minister in July 2021.
The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) has already emphasised on the relevance of a single higher education regulator. As per NEP 2020, "The regulatory system is in need of a complete overhaul in order to re-energise the higher education sector and enable it to thrive." It adds that the new system should ensure the distinct functions of regulation, accreditation, funding and academic standard setting are performed by distinct, independent and empowered bodies.
(With inputs from PTI)
