Unified Law for Higher Education in India: Opportunities, Apprehensions, and Responsibilities

The regulatory framework in India’s system of higher education has long been marred by fragmented regulatory frameworks, doublings, and complexity in regulatory procedures. The decision taken by the Union government to refer a bill called “Viksit Bharat Education Authority Bill, 2025” to a Joint Parliamentary Committee is noteworthy in this context, as it represents a major and revolutionary move in this regard. The bill promises to abolish existing regulatory frameworks like that of the University Grants Commission, but it also represents a serious statement by a government that is determined to consolidate regulatory frameworks in India’s system of higher education.

The regulation pertaining to higher education in India, till now, was distributed among UGC, AICTE, NCTE, NAAC, and NIRF. Each one was functional within their ambit. This model, although functional in the sense that it strictly holds to the lines of each respective discipline, seems increasingly cumbersome with the setting up of multidisciplinary institutions.

In most cases, duplication was experienced whenever institutions of higher learning needed approvals for various programs and research work from different regulators, causing time and resource waste. It was expected that this fragmented regulatory structure was contrary to the interdisciplinary and flexible nature of education expected under NEP-2020, among the biggest challenges towards implementing this policy.

Main Features of Viksit Bharat Education Authority

One of the most defining characteristics of the proposed Viksit Bharat Education Authority is the fact that it has one comprehensive regulatory body. The creation of verticals in regulation, standard setting, and quality assurance suggests that the government not only wishes to regulate the institutes but also desires better learning outcomes.

Outcome-based education, development of faculty, development and use of modern technology, and mentoring in institutions are some of the areas that will help it be a proactive and a reformist body rather than a bureaucratization body per se. This model will help Indian higher education achieve international best practices if it turns out to be successful.

However, issues raised about this new framework do not lose any validity. The fact that the proposed authority is immediately controlled by the Ministry of Education raises some doubts about the issue of over-centralization. The major test will come when it has to maintain a balance between autonomy and accountability.

In any case, the powers of penalty, closure of institutions, and the like would have to be exercised in a transparent, nondiscriminatory, and merit-based way. Otherwise, the possibility exists that the same distrust and discontent of the old regimes would be replicated in the new arrangements.

The role which has been overlooked in reforms in higher education is another significant area, which pertains to stakeholders away from the state. The view that higher education is solely a governmental responsibility is a simplistic and perilous assumption. Administrators, faculty members, researchers, students, and society must all share responsibility for it.

It would be a loss if the intellectual community continues to make its opinions heard on rights but not on duties. Then any reform, no matter how well-organized, will fail.

The growing criticism concerning the use of Hindi terms, such as the word “Adhishthan”, takes the focus away from the actual point at issue. The debate itself must not primarily revolve around language, but rather quality, accessibility, relevance, and equity in higher education. At such a crucial juncture, the need for India to reform with an open mind to achieve a discrimination-free and effective implementation of policies, and not just political rhetoric, and to achieve that, higher education will find itself in the same slumber that the school education system is presently in. Thus, The Viksit Bharat Education Authority Bill, 2025, is both an opportunity and a challenge that will decide the fate of Indian Higher Education for many years to come.