Govt trying to draft bill for unified higher education body: Minister

The government is drafting a bill for setting up a higher education commission of India (HECI) as a single, merged higher education regulatory body, the Lok Sabha was told on Monday.

Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar made the announcement while providing a written answer to a question.

"The NEP 2020 visualises a 'light but tight' regulation for ensuring the integrity, transparency and efficient use of resources in the education sector through audit and public reporting and stimulating innovation and think-out-of-the-box by providing autonomy, good governance and empowerment," Majumdar said.

"The NEP 2020 also foresees the creation of a Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) as one all-encompassing body with autonomous verticals to carry out autonomous functions of regulation, accreditation, funding and setting academic standards. The above vision of the NEP 2020 is being drawn up by the ministry in the form of the HECI bill," he added.

The HECI suggested by the new NEP suggests substituting the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

The UGC looks after non-technical higher education, the AICTE looks after technical education and the NCTE looks after teachers' education.

The idea of the HECI has been floated earlier in the form of a draft bill.

A first Higher Education Commission of India (Repeal of University Grants Commission Act) Bill, 2018 was placed in the public domain in the year for repeal of the UGC Act and made provisions for setting up the Higher Education Commission of India.

The new drive to pass the HECI came under Dharmendra Pradhan, who was administered oath as Union education minister in July 2021.

Evidencing the need for change by one regulator of higher education, the NEP 2020 report states, "the regulation system has to be revamped in its entirety so that the system of higher education gets re-energised and flourishes."