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The Narendra Modi government will bring the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 during the winter session of Parliament to establish a commission to enable universities and other higher educational institutions “to become independent self-governing institutions and to promote excellence through a robust and transparent system of accreditation and autonomy.”

The bill, reviewed by HT, says the Commission will have three wings-the Regulatory Council, Accreditation Council and the Standards Council. The 12-member commission will comprise presidents of the Regulatory Council, Accreditation Council and the Standards Council, Union higher education secretary, two eminent and distinguished academicians not below the rank of professor from the State Higher Educational institutions and five eminent experts and a member secretary.

The appointments are to be made by the Centre alone through a three-member search panel. The proposed law proposes that no prosecution or legal proceedings shall be instituted against any office bearer or employee of the Commission or Council “for anything which has been done or intended to be done in good faith under this Act.”

The bill also proposes a steep fine of minimum of ₹10 lakhs to ₹30 lakhs if an educational institution contravenes the provisions of the new law and fail to rectify the mistakes. For repeated offence, a higher educational institution may have to pay at least ₹75 lakhs or face suspension.

The new commission will formulate and suggest schemes to improve quality of education and advise the Centre and the states for the “holistic development of higher education in the country.”

This Bill will apply to all Institutions of National Importance and any other Institution set up by Parliament, Universities in India, colleges, institutions regulated under the Architects Act, 1972, institutions regulated under the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), open and distance learning institutions, amongst others.

There would be a 14-member Regulatory Council. According to the bill, the mandate of the council would be to ensure “all higher educational institutions attain full accreditation and thereby autonomy in a graded manner”, to transform the current higher education sector into one “comprising autonomous, vibrant and empowered multidisciplinary higher educational institutions with high quality education, research and service including integrated vocational education, training and skilling programs.”

The council will develop a “coherent policy to prevent commercialisation” of higher education. It will also look into public self-disclosure of all finances, audits, procedures, infrastructure, faculty, courses, educational outcomes and accreditation related information by higher educational institutions on a public website maintained by the Regulatory Council and on the websites of institutions.

The council will lay down norms for the entry of certain foreign varsities to operate in India and “facilitate high performing Indian Universities to set up campuses in other countries.”

Another 14-member accreditation council will develop “an outcome-based Institutional Accreditation Framework in consultation with relevant stakeholders, which shall be used to assess and accredit higher educational institutions leading to accreditation with or without open and distance learning, online or digital learning, or any other form of learning.”

It can also empanel and de-panel accrediting institutions to develop a high-quality and high-integrity accreditation system with adequate capacity to meet the requirements for accreditation of higher educational institutions. The council will monitor the performance of the accrediting institutions and review their work.

Bill says, the Institutional Accreditation Framework shall lay down parameters for accreditation involving only educational outcomes, good governance, financial probity and stability and transparent public disclosure of all academic, operational and financial matters to guide the accrediting institutions in such manner as may be specified by regulations made by the Accreditation Council.

The Standards Council or viksit bharat shiksha manak parishad, shall take all such steps as it may think fit for the determination of academic standards in higher educational institutions for higher education.” The panel will also frame “expected learning outcomes (also referred to as “graduate attributes”)” and provide the nomenclature of “certificate” and “diploma”, and the levels of educational qualifications, other than “Doctor of Philosophy".

It will give the norms on credit transfers, equivalence, and related matters to ensure mobility for students and develop "a suggested broad framework of higher education qualifications" for institutions and programmes. The body, according to the bill, would "lay down clear minimum standards for setting up and operation of higher educational institutions" and establish "frameworks for innovative development of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and student support including promotion of internationalization of education to attain world class standards in all areas as well as the Indianization of education to promote Bharatiya knowledge, arts and languages, for enhanced student experiences and to meet learning outcomes."

The body will also lay down qualifications for any person to be appointed as the staff of the higher educational institutes. The office tenure for the chairperson of the Commission and the president of each Council shall be three years initially and extendable up to five years. The bill says they shall be eligible for reappointment for another term. They can be removed by the President of India. The Commission shall have an own Fund to be known as the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Fund and all sums which may, from time to time, be granted to it by the Central Government.

The Karnataka government announced that it would constitute a House committee to look into and recommend relaxations in the rules for initial recognition and renewal for private aided and unaided schools. School Education and Literacy Minister S Madhu Bangarappa agreed for it following demands by members from the Treasury and Opposition benches in the Legislative Council.

Formation of House Panel

The Minister, Bangarappa, said that the House committee would discuss at length the prevailing rules and problems related to the issues of renewal. "The committee shall go through the rules and suggest amendments to loosen the noose that has been choking private institutions in the matter of recognition and its renewal," he said.

The initiative assumes urgency in the backdrop of allegations of corruption in the department, especially relating to the renewal of school recognitions. Bangarappa said measures would be taken to ensure that private schools faced no inconvenience till the recommendations of the committee were implemented. "No private institution should face difficulties during this transitional period," he said.

Addressing Issues of Corruption

In the backdrop of continued complaints of corruption, Bangarappa ensured that harsh action would be started against those officials who were proved to have demanded bribes for renewing recognition of schools. "We will not tolerate corruption in any form," he promised, adding that disciplinary action will be initiated against those personnel who are found involved. Though initiatives have been made to computerize the renewal work, the Minister said, there are some challenges which need to be overcome before completely engaging in the transformation.

The decision to constitute the House panel is in line with the stand taken by the Legislative Council, which wanted recognition to private schools given out in a more transparent and streamlined manner. The members of the Council were vocal about the fact that the rules existed in a cumbersome form and needed to be relaxed so as to smoothen the operations for educational institutions.

What's Next? 

Hence, the House committee will be constituted immediately to study the situation and seek the views of stakeholders involved in the education sector. Whatever recommendations the committee comes up with, assured the Minister, would be implemented without delay to streamline the process of recognition for private schools in Karnataka. This move promises to overcome the complexity private educational institutions have been facing in the state, thus creating a better environment for their operation and growth. As stakeholders, they were hopeful the change would have a positive effect on schools and students when the committee embarks on its review.

With the 2026 board examinations approaching, the Central Board of Secondary Education has issued a circular regarding Class 10 Science and Social Science question papers with a more disciplined layout.

The circular has emphasized that assessment should be simplified by encouraging candidates to afford markers clear, systematic answers that minimize marking errors and reduce cross-script confusion.

Final datesheet and exam window announced

CBSE has also released an official date sheet for the 2026 board exams in Classes 10 and 12. Both streams start on February 17, 2026, while Class 10 concludes on March 10, 2026.

Pattern for Revised Class 10 Science

According to the new rules, the Class 10 Science paper shall be divided into three separately labelled sections:

Section A: Biology

Section B: Chemistry

Section C: Physics

Candidates are expected to strictly follow the sectional structure as they set out their answer books: they should divide and label each portion accordingly before beginning. All answers are to stay within the set spaces of every section, with mixing or answering outside such areas is not allowed.

New Format for Class 10 Social Science

Similarly, this Class 10 Social Science exam will be divided into four sections:

Section A: Background/History

Section B: Geography

Section C: Political Science

Section D: Economics

The students have to mark the correct answer sheets and keep each of their answers in the correct section. According to the board, misplacing an answer, such as placing a Geography answer in the History section, will not be evaluated.

Noncompliance carries serious penalties. It said the new guidelines, aimed at proper bifurcation of marks, are to be followed and any violation would affect evaluation. Answers written outside the designed parts will not be evaluated and such mistakes cannot be corrected during verification or re-evaluation. It said, "The evaluation scheme is final." Guidance for Schools and Students CBSE has suggested that schools regularly train the students for writing answers in section-divided answer sheets during regular tests, internal assessments, and pre-boards to avoid errors in examinations. Students can also be asked to download the latest sample papers from the CBSE academic website to acquaint themselves with the revised pattern. The board said that careful labeling, correct division of sections, and disciplined writing would lead to their correct evaluation.

The special initiative of 'Tamil Karkalam' as part of the ongoing Kashi Tamil Sangamam 4.0 has filled students in government schools with glee and eagerness to learn Tamil and its rich heritage.

Sandhya Saikrishnan, a teacher of Tamil at Government Queens Inter College, Lahurabir here, and a Pracharak at Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Chennai, said, "The students are eager to learn and enthusiastic. I have been teaching them over the last few days, and they can now communicate in basic Tamil." She also appreciated the study materials supplied by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil: "very useful, simple and easy to understand."

Saikrishnan, one among 50 Hindi-speaking Tamil teachers recruited by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil to hold classes in schools in Varanasi and its surrounding districts under 'Tamil Karkalam', says,

Tanu Pal, a Class 9 student of the Government Queens Inter College, said she was feeling happy and excited to learn Tamil.

"I like it very much. Today I know Hindi, Tamil and English. I feel proud that I got this opportunity," she said.

An autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, the Central Institute of Classical Tamil leads this programme.

Explaining the aim, Director of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, R Chandrasekaran said the institute is committed to teaching the language to over 3,000 students who have Tamil as a non-mother tongue.

He said during an interaction with PTI that this course would be put online so that even students from Class 9 to 12 or anybody interested in learning Tamil could do so.

He added that close to 50 schools in the districts in and around Varanasi would be visited by the teachers in the next few weeks.

: About 3,000 students would be imparted the Tamil language by the teachers. This initiative has been mutually decided between the Ministry of Education and the Government of Uttar Pradesh ", he said.

Chandrasekaran said the institute has come out with a specially designed five-volume book series that would enable students to pick up Tamil in just 15 days and make learning quick and effective.

It is also aimed that the students converse in Tamil through this book after the end of the training. The books have been written so clearly that learners can study on their own. To this effect, all these study materials are on display at a dedicated stall at the ongoing Kasi Tamil Sangamam 4.0 venue, besides educating the initiative. At the end of the Kasi Tamil Sangamam 4.0 conference, Chandrasekaran said, about 300 students from Varanasi would come to Tamil Nadu to get more involved with the language and culture. "This initiative will help consolidate the decades-old cultural relationship of Tamil Nadu with Varanasi," he added.

The Bharathiar University administration will very soon constitute a committee to conduct an enquiry into long-pending complaints against teaching as well as non-teaching staff.

Officials said the V-C post has been lying vacant since 2022, while recently a new registrar was appointed to the university after a span of seven years.

During this period, the performance of Bharathiar University's administration has become lethargic, they added.

Moreover, the administration did not file appeals against court cases filed by teaching and non-teaching staff regarding monetary benefits, suspensions, irregularity in duty, misappropriation of funds, and other issues.

Besides this, a few teachers were suspended and their benefits withheld because of internal politics, which led them to seek legal remedies.

Due to this, the university has suffered some financial losses over the past several years, sources added.

"To sort out long-pending complaints, the university administration will constitute a committee which would look into the number of cases pending in court and concerning Bharathiar University and the current status. It would also assess how many staff were facing departmental action and the status of such cases. Besides, the committee would inquire into all complaints from staff and initiate necessary action. The committee shall act based on each case. If there is a prima facie case in an allegation, it will be referred for action, if not, the committee will resolve the issue internally. It will help avoid financial losses to the university," sources further said.

When contacted, University Registrar R Rajavel informed TNIE that they would suggest constitution of a committee with V-C committee convenor and the process is underway.

Delhi University is mulling plans to close or restructure several low-demand undergraduate programmes. An internal review of admissions, submitted to college principals last week, revealed persistent vacancies in some courses and colleges.

The university identified the programmes with the lowest student response based on the latest, or 2025–26, CUET-based admission trends. This data was compared to the 2019 admission cycle—when DU still followed the Class XII merit-based system—to argue that the current vacancy pattern is due to varying demand over the years, rather than the introduction of CUET, according to ToI.

The university used one to categorize the program "preference-to-seat ratio".

The two courses having the ratio of less than 50 could be discontinued, while courses with the ratio between 50 and 100 may see seats being redistributed. The high demand programmes, with a ratio of more than 200, are being proposed to be expanded. As per the data available, OMSP (Office Management and Secretarial Practice) and many BA programme combinations were in the low demand category.

Colleges have now been asked to review programmes which have received consistently poor admissions and submit a report by Monday. "All colleges have been asked to examine underperforming courses and begin the process of phasing them out," said the principal of a college in the South Campus, on condition of anonymity.

Four colleges - Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bhagini Nivedita College, Swami Shraddhanand College and Zakir Hussain Evening College-have been cited as examples where the seat fill-up is the lowest and cancellations are the highest. As per the review, Aditi Mahavidyalaya enrolled 606 students against the 1,010 sanctioned seats while Bhagini Nivedita enrolled 359 against its 985 seats. The university said both colleges offer a number of BA programme combinations but offer fewer honours courses.

Another principal present in the meeting revealed that most of the BA programme combinations are no longer attractive to applicants.

"Some colleges have introduced combinations that don't attract students, while they offer no Honours courses at all. They were advised to weed out such combinations and retain only academically meaningful ones," the principal said, as quoted by ToI.

Stream-wise data revealed that commerce courses and a number of BA Honours programmes were in good demand, many of which received applications beyond approved capacity. Language programmes had the least response, with only about 81 per cent of the seats filled - the lowest among all streams. Officials said that restructuring is likely to be implemented from the next academic year forward to simplify the processes and improve seat utilisation.