Higher education Bill may lead to concentration of powers in single central regulator: House panel

A joint committee of Parliament has stated that the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 will lead to concentration of extensive regulatory powers in a single central regulator, thereby affecting corporate autonomy.

According to the draft report distributed by the joint panel to members, it is stated that the graduated penalty architecture proposed in the Bill cannot be applied arbitrarily.

The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December last year and was subsequently referred to a joint committee of Parliament.

The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025 proposes a major overhaul of India’s higher education sector by disbanding the University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) to create a single and unified regulatory commission.

On Thursday, the government listed the bill for discussion and adoption following the acceptance of the report.

“The Committee expressed concern that the concentration of extensive regulatory powers in a single central regulator could lead to bureaucratic or ideological overreach and thereby impact the institutional autonomy available under the existing UGC framework,” the draft report said. The statement was included.

Graduated punishment architecture

The committee noted that the bill proposes a graduated penalty architecture, but that penalties cannot be imposed arbitrarily by the Regulatory Council.

The Committee also recommends that the Department establish appropriate rules to ensure that the process of filling foreseeable vacancies, such as those arising from retirement or retirement, is initiated at least six months in advance and is completed within 90 days of the vacancy occurring.

“Punishments are linked to proven violations of norms. The main purpose of having a penalty system is to strengthen deterrence against institutions that habitually and repeatedly violate norms… The Committee observes that, in terms of individual and institutional accountability, the provisions of the Bill lift the “institutional veil” often used by those who support rogue institutions.

“Furthermore, even for legitimate HEIs (higher education institutions), repeated breaches now run the risk of removing specific staff found responsible for the breach, placing the burden of compliance on individual leaders and trustees,” he said.

The committee agreed that the chairmen and full-time members of the council would be appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of the search and selection committee.

“However, in case of ex-officio members of commissions and councils and other members of commissions and councils other than the member-secretary, the committee suggested that they may be appointed by the Central government instead of the President on the recommendations of the Central government, as many central institutions nowadays suffer due to delay in appointment of members and long involvement.”

The bill aims to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 by dividing higher education oversight into three expert councils for regulation, accreditation and standards.