MoE drafting bill to set up unified higher education body: MoS to LS

The Ministry of Education is in the process of drafting a bill for establishing a higher education commission of India (HECI), proposed as a unified higher education regulatory body, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.

Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar shared the information in a written reply to a question.

"The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisions a 'light but tight' regulatory framework to ensure integrity, transparency and resource efficiency of the educational system through audit and public disclosure while encouraging innovation and out-of-the-box ideas through autonomy, good governance and empowerment," Majumdar said.

"The NEP 2020 further envisions setting up of a Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) as an umbrella body with independent verticals to perform distinct functions of regulation, accreditation, funding and academic standard setting. Considering the above vision of NEP 2020, the ministry is in the process of drafting a HECI bill," he added.

The HECI, which was proposed in the new NEP, looks to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

While the UGC oversees non-technical higher education, the AICTE oversees technical education and the NCTE is the regulatory body for teachers' education.

The concept of the HECI has been discussed before in the form of a draft bill.

A draft Higher Education Commission of India (Repeal of University Grants Commission Act) Bill, 2018, which seeks to repeal the UGC Act and provides for setting up of the Higher Education Commission of India, was put in the public domain that year for feedback and consultation with stakeholders.

Renewed efforts to make the HECI a reality were then initiated under Dharmendra Pradhan, who took over as Union education minister in July 2021.

Underlining the relevance of a single higher education regulator, the NEP 2020 document says, "the regulatory system is in need of a complete overhaul in order to re-energise the higher education sector and enable it to thrive".