The proposed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhisthan, an apex higher education commission, and the three councils under it will have to consult the central government on every policy issue, something the existing regulator is not mandated to do.

The proposed commission will have fewer academics and more bureaucrats as members compared with the University Grants Commission (UGC) that it seeks to replace, and will hand over funding powers entirely to the government.

Several academics have expressed concern at the greater scope given to the government to control the affairs of the proposed commission and councils in all their areas of functioning: setting standards, compliance with regulations, and accreditation.

The VBSA Bill is being examined by a joint parliamentary committee.

The VBSA Bill says: “The Commission shall meet at such places and times, and shall follow such rules of procedure in regard to the transaction of business at its meetings (including quorum at such meetings), in such manner as may be specified by the regulations, in consultation with the Central Government.”

It prescribes similar rules for the councils.

In contrast, the UGC Act says the regulator will decide the norms of standard-setting in consultation with the educational institutions.

“It shall be the general duty of the Commission to take, in consultation with the Universities or other bodies concerned, all such steps as it may think fit for the promotion and coordination of University education and for the determination and maintenance of standards of teaching, examination and research in Universities,” it says.

According to the VBSA Bill, the proposed commission will have 12 members — all appointed by the central government, as with the UGC — apart from a member-secretary.

The members will include an honorary chairperson — a “person of eminence and reputation” — the presidents of the three councils; the higher education secretary, two eminent academics from state higher-education institutions, and five experts from various academic fields.

This means the combined number of teachers and experts — some or all of whom can be teachers, too — will be seven. Under the UGC Act, 10 of the 12 members can be teachers or experts.

The UGC members include the chairperson and vice-chairperson — both academics — four university teachers; and four others who can be vice-chancellors or experts in fields such as agriculture, engineering, industry and commerce, among others. The other two are government secretaries.

According to the VBSA Bill, the commission’s member-secretary will function as the chief executive officer and “ensure general superintendence and coordination with respect to all administrative matters of the Commission”.

The official appointed as member-secretary must hold a rank not below that of a central government secretary. Each council, too, will have a member-secretary not below the rank of joint secretary.

Clause 47 of the Bill empowers the Centre to overrule the commission or the councils if it decides that they have failed to discharge their functions properly. Clause 24 allows the government to remove the head and the members of the commission and the councils.

The UGC, too, has to get every regulation approved by the government, which can issue binding instructions relating to “national purposes” — such as issues of compliance with the National Education Policy or national interest or security.

However, the government does not micro-manage all the decision processes of the UGC the way the VBSA Bill allows it to do for the proposed commission.

Former UGC secretary and academic R.K. Chauhan said: “The VBSA Bill says the proposed commission will consult the government on every issue. It means the government will advise on every issue. So the commission cannot function as an autonomous body.”

He said the provision for an honorary chairperson means the incumbent will be a part-time head, which suggests that the day-to-day work would be handled by the member-secretary, who would be a government official.

With the proposed commission envisaged as a bigger organisation than the UGC — subsuming the existing technical and teacher education regulators, AICTE and NCTE — a part-time chairperson will struggle to manage its functions, he argued.

“Under the UGC Act, the government can give directions to the regulator on policy relating to national purposes…. Under the VBSA Bill, the government has greater representation and greater power to control,” Sanjay Bohidar, a professor at Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi, said.

Rajesh Jha, a faculty member at Rajdhani College in Delhi, said the UGC member-secretary is appointed by the regulator from among academics, but the proposed commission and councils would have bureaucrats as member-secretaries.

“Bureaucrats often have a dismissive approach towards the issues of academic institutions,” Jha said. “In the (proposed) commission, the higher education secretary and the member-secretary, both senior government officials, will influence the decision-making process.”

Abha Dev Habib, a teacher at Miranda House College, said the bill empowers the education ministry to fund central universities and affiliated colleges, strengthening government control and compromising academic autonomy.