Overview
- Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, and following opposition objections over centralisation, federalism and the bill’s nomenclature, the government moved it to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for scrutiny.
- The bill creates an apex commission supported by regulatory, accreditation and standards councils to set norms, oversee accreditation and grant graded autonomy to higher education institutions.
- Coverage extends to central universities and institutes of national importance such as IITs, IIMs, NITs, IISc, IISERs and IIITs, while medical and legal education remain under their existing regulators.
- A technology-driven public portal would require institutions to disclose governance, finances, staffing, courses and outcomes, and penalties range up to Rs 75 lakh for repeated violations, with a Rs 2 crore fine for unapproved institutions.
- Appointments to the commission and councils would be made by the President on the Centre’s recommendation, funding remains with ministries rather than the regulator, and the JPC will now examine the bill in detail before further parliamentary action.