UGC, AICTE and NCTE To Merge? Landmark HECI Bill To Reshape Higher Education Framework To Be Presented This Winter Session

A major reform in the higher education system is set to take shape this winter session of Parliament, with the government preparing to introduce a bill to create a single comprehensive regulator. According to a Lok Sabha bulletin, the legislation has been named as Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill.

UGC, AICTE and NCTE To Get Merged?

The idea of the Higher Education Commission of India is a part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which looks forward to replace three key existing bodies - University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

Currently, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education, the AICTE oversees technical education, while the NCTE governs teachers' education. If the bill gets the approval, the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) will serve as a single regulator merging all these existing bodies.

However, medical and law colleges will not be regulated by the new body, and these colleges will continue to remain under their existing frameworks. The HECI is proposed to function with three major mandates: regulation, accreditation, and setting professional standards across higher education institutions. While these core responsibilities will be brought under HECI, funding will not be included in its scope. Funding decisions will remain with the administrative ministry, maintaining its autonomy over financial matters.

A Long-Awaited Reform 

The idea of a unified regulator is not new. A draft Higher Education Commission of India Bill was first placed in the public domain in 2018 for stakeholder consultation. The 2018 draft sought to repeal the UGC Act and establish the Higher Education Commission of India as the sole regulatory mechanism. Efforts to revive and refine the proposal resumed after Dharmendra Pradhan took over as Union Education Minister in July 2021. 

The National Education Policy 2020 strongly supports the creation of HECI, noting that India’s education regulatory system needs a ‘complete overhaul to re-energise the higher education sector and enable it to thrive’. The NEP highlights that for the sector to progress, regulation, accreditation, funding, and academic standard-setting should be handled by ’distinct, independent, and empowered bodies'. 

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