'Role for states': Pradhan defends higher education regulator Bill, Pg9

Key Highlights:

• The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 aims to establish a central body for higher education, dissolving the UGC, AICTE, and NCTE.
• Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated that the bill ensures state participation, unlike the existing system.
• The bill proposes three councils for regulatory functions, standard-setting, and accreditation.
• The commission will include professors from state higher education institutions.

Detailed Insights:

• The bill faced opposition in the Lok Sabha due to concerns about excessive centralization of higher education.
• The proposed structure includes a commission with representation from state higher education institutions.
• The regulatory and standards councils will each have a nominee from the states/UTs on a rotation basis.
• The accreditation council will include two academicians from state higher education institutions.
• Entry 66 in the Union List of the Constitution gives the central government the standard-setting role.
• The Education Minister has proposed referring the Bill to a House panel.

Key Concepts Involved:

• UGC (University Grants Commission): A statutory body responsible for the coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education in India.
• AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education): A statutory body and a national-level council for technical education.
• NCTE (National Council for Teacher Education): A statutory body to oversee standards, procedures and processes in the Indian education system.