The Narendra Modi government is planning to place a long-awaited higher education overhaul before Parliament in the upcoming winter session beginning December 1.
The Higher Education Commission of India Bill, listed in the Lok Sabha bulletin, seeks to reshape how universities and colleges are regulated across the country.
The proposed Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) is rooted in the National Education Policy 2020, which argues for structural change. “The regulatory system is in need of a complete overhaul in order to re-energise the higher education sector and enable it to thrive.”
It further notes that the new system must ensure “the distinct functions of regulation, accreditation, funding, and academic standard setting are performed by distinct, independent, and empowered bodies.”
HECI is meant to replace three key institutions, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
These bodies currently handle non-technical education, technical education, and teacher education. Medical and law colleges will continue under their existing frameworks and will not be shifted to HECI.
Under the bill, HECI will take charge of regulation, accreditation, and setting professional standards. Funding, considered the fourth vertical in the NEP’s structure, will remain with the administrative ministry rather than the new regulator.
This separation has been part of discussions since 2018, when the draft Higher Education Commission of India (Repeal of University Grants Commission Act) Bill, 2018 was opened for public consultation.
Efforts to revive the plan gathered pace after Dharmendra Pradhan became Union education minister in 2021. Since then, the ministry has pushed for a single regulator to streamline processes that have been handled by multiple bodies for decades.