Overview
- The joint parliamentary committee reviewing the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill is finalising its report this week after receiving detailed submissions from multiple State governments and universities.
- The Bill would repeal the UGC, AICTE and NCTE and replace them with a single apex regulator called the VBSA, a structural overhaul that critics say centralises rule‑making, accreditation and degree approval.
- Institutions and States flagged specific provisions—notably Clauses 11, 45, 47 and 49—for allowing the regulator to bypass State universities in granting degrees, to accept binding directions from the Centre, to be superseded by the Centre, and to have an overriding effect over other laws.
- NDA‑ruled States including Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya and central and state universities demanded mandatory State consultation, a phased transition to avoid institutional disruption, clearer Centre–State powers and parliamentary oversight.
- The opposition, led publicly by Congress’s Jairam Ramesh, has called the measure a threat to federalism and to Institutes of National Importance and is urging State resistance as the government plans to table the Bill in Parliament during the Monsoon session beginning July 20, which could prompt legal challenges and political fights over autonomy and funding.