Key Points
- The new bill will now be called Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill.
- Board to look into regulation, accreditation, and professional standards
- Funding to be taken care of by the administrative ministry
The Union Cabinet has cleared the bill to replace higher education bodies with a single entity. As per the bill, the single higher education regulator will be replacing the existing University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education and the National Council for Teacher Education.
‘The UGC oversees the non-technical higher education, while the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE regulates teacher education. The new bill, earlier named as the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill, is now called Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill.
The new regulator will have major roles in regulation, accreditation, and setting professional standards, as well as overseeing funding. The autonomy for funding is proposed to be with the administrative ministry, and it will also supervise medical and law colleges.
The concept of HECI has been discussed before in the form of a draft bill. The draft Higher Education Commission of India Bill 2018 sought to repeal the UGC Act and provided for setting up the Higher Education Commission of India put in the public domain in 2018 for feedback and consultation
The NEP 2020, highlighting the relevance of a single higher education regulator, stated that the regulatory system needs a complete overhaul to re-energise the higher education sector and enable it to thrive. The NEP 2020 further stipulates that the new system schedule ensures that a distinct function of regulation, accreditation, funding, and academic standard setting is performed by independent and empowered bodies.
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