New Delhi: Highlighting the need for a “uniform pattern” in regulation, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan defended the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill that was tabled in Parliament on Monday.
Regulation, standard setting, and university accreditation, must align with the National Education Policy (NEP), he said. There was opposition to the Bill, after which it was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee amid opposition.
Dharmendra addresses a press conference on Wednesday and stated that the Bill establishes three councils for regulation, standard-setting, and accreditation, which will work in coordination with the Viksit Bharat Shikshah Adhishthan.
“There are multiple regulators, standard-setting bodies and accreditation bodies. The makers of the NEP noted that, if we are to bring higher education to global standards, the Act needs to be amended. UGC was all-in-one: a regula
tor, a standard-setting body, and an accreditor. We faced a problem as there was a conflict of interest and a lack of objectivity. UGC was implemented in 1956, then in the 1980s, the AICTE Act came, and the NCTE Act came in the 90s. With time, the Institutions of National Importance were formed based on Acts passed in Parliament,” the minister said, as reported by ANI.
“Then there is also the Council of Architecture, which is a standards and licensing body. There was a need to bring these under a uniform pattern. The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan will have three councils: Viksit Bharat Shiksha Viniyaman Parishad as a regulatory council, Viksit Bharat Shiksha Gunvatta Parishad as an accreditation council, and Viksit Bharat Shiksha Manak Parishad as a standards council. All three councils will be autonomous, and Shiksha Adhisthan will work for coordination,” he added.
“A problem was that there was no role of states in the UGC. State Universities will remain the same, and the coordination will work on the existing framework,” Dharmendra said, addressing the concern for State Universities.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, establishes the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan to enable universities and other higher education institutions to become independent, self-governing bodies.