Parliamentary panel seeks stronger safeguards for IITs, IIMs and states in higher education reform Bill

New Delhi: A parliamentary panel examining the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025 has proposed a series of safeguards to address concerns raised by Institutions of National Importance (INIs), states and universities, recommending stronger statutory protection for premier institutions, a bigger role for states in the proposed regulator and tighter checks on the Centre's powers.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee, chaired by BJP MP D Purandeswari, has broadly endorsed the government's proposal to replace the UGC, AICTE and NCTE with a single higher education regulator, but has suggested several changes to strengthen institutional autonomy, cooperative federalism and transparency. The draft report is expected to be adopted next week.

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The recommendations follow consultations with more than 100 stakeholders, many of whom warned that the proposed framework could centralise higher education regulation unless safeguards were built into the law.

Issue of Federalism

The panel also sought to address concerns of states including its ally TDP-led Andhra Pradesh government over excessive centralisation. It recommended wider representation of States and Union Territories in the proposed regulatory structure by giving them rotational representation in the Standards Council, one of the three bodies under the new regulator responsible for framing academic standards.

Language & Culture

The committee recommended retaining Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan as the official name while using both Hindi and English nomenclature in official communications. It also "concurred with setting up a dedicated Bharatiya Jnan Parampara (Knowledge Systems) Cells but through rules-not in the Act itself-to provide for its institutional framework, staffing and funding.

Autonomy of INIs

The panel recommended that the statutory protection available to institutions remain explicit in the law and not be left entirely to regulations. It said rules framed under Section 49 should be prepared only after mandatory consultation with INIs.

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Grant disbursal

The panel rejected concerns over centralisation of funding, backing the government's decision to keep grant disbursal outside the proposed regulator.

Mandatory consultation

Seeking to preserve the consultative nature of the present UGC framework, the committee recommended making stakeholder consultation a statutory requirement.

It proposed mandatory consultation with universities and state governments before regulations are notified, along with a 60-day public consultation and Regulatory Impact Assessment for major regulatory changes.