Overview
- Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan tabled the bill, and parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said the government will propose referring it to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for detailed review.
- The measure would repeal the UGC, AICTE and NCTE Acts and create a single commission with three councils for regulation, accreditation and standards.
- Appointments to the commission and councils would be made by the President on Centre‑led recommendations, with powers for the Centre to supersede these bodies and a clause giving the Centre the final say on policy questions.
- The bill separates regulation from funding, excludes medical and legal education, mandates public self‑disclosure, and provides steep penalties including a ₹2 crore fine for creating an institution without approval.
- Opposition MPs argued the proposal centralises control and weakens state and institutional autonomy, also objecting to the Hindi nomenclature and the bill’s late circulation.