New Delhi, Dec 13: The Union Cabinet on Saturday approved a draft law to establish a single national regulator for higher education, setting the stage for the dissolution of statutory bodies such as the University Grants Commission, the All India Council for Technical Education and the National Council for Teacher Education, according to an official release.
The proposed legislation, renamed the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill, is slated for introduction during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. If enacted, the bill will consolidate regulatory authority over universities and colleges under one statutory framework, excluding institutions imparting medical and legal education.
Government sources said the new authority will exercise jurisdiction over academic regulation, accreditation and the prescription of professional standards across higher education institutions. The regulator will not control funding, which will continue to vest with the administrative ministry, maintaining a separation between financial powers and regulatory oversight.
The bill was earlier circulated as the Higher Education Commission of India Bill and draws its legal basis from the reform agenda outlined in the National Education Policy 2020. The policy had recommended a unified regulator to address overlapping mandates and fragmented governance that had led to regulatory disputes and administrative delays.
Officials indicated that the new framework seeks to absorb the functions of the UGC, AICTE and NCTE into a single authority, thereby repealing or rendering redundant the existing statutes governing these bodies. The move is intended to streamline compliance requirements and bring uniformity in enforcement across disciplines including general, technical and teacher education.
The idea of a consolidated regulator is not new. A draft version of the HECI Bill was first circulated in 2018 with provisions to repeal the UGC Act. That proposal faced opposition from academic stakeholders who raised objections over excessive centralisation and potential erosion of institutional autonomy, leading the government to withhold the bill at the time.
The current iteration represents a renewed legislative attempt to operationalise the NEP vision while retaining government control over funding decisions. While the policy had envisaged multiple verticals separating regulation, accreditation, academic standards and financing, the bill adopts a unified regulatory authority with financial powers remaining outside its remit.
The proposed law is expected to trigger parliamentary scrutiny and debate, with lawmakers likely to examine its impact on federal principles, institutional autonomy and the legal transition from existing regulatory statutes to the new regime.
