Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill 2025 ‘fundamentally flawed’, threat to autonomy: Teachers' body

The Federation of Central Universities Teachers’ Associations (FEDCUTA) has raised serious concern over the Centre’s decision to introduce the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill 2025 in parliament, warning that the proposed legislation poses significant threats to university autonomy, public funding, and teachers’ service conditions.

Earlier known as the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI), the bill seeks to fundamentally restructure the higher education regulatory framework by replacing the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) with a new apex body.

The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan will oversee three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and standards.

Describing the new framework as “a fundamentally flawed approach”, FEDCUTA said that several provisions in the bill contradict the government's claims of empowering institutions and promoting excellence.

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'Direct funding from MoE is not guaranteed'

“Central Universities will be subject to meeting regulatory requirements and ‘standards’ imposed by external bodies without that being linked to any commitment on their part for provision of the required funding. Further, direct control of funding by the Ministry of Education is not a guarantee of necessary finances. It only increases the scope for government control over the universities and undermines their autonomy,” the FEDCUTA said in an official statement.

The teachers’ group also stated that the new rules encourage “increasing” private management influence by delinking colleges from universities and converting them into autonomous degree-granting institutions.

“The Bill leaves scope for determining teachers’ pay and service conditions outside a regulatory framework, posing serious risks to job security and academic freedom,” it added.

It further said that although the bill described the Regulatory Council, the Accreditation Council and the Standards Council as independent body, the apex council has wide powers to issue direction and ensure coordination, effectively placing the entire regulatory structure under central government control.

The federation said these broad and undefined powers could allow intervention in nearly every aspect of university functioning.

Furthermore, demanding complete withdrawal of the bill, the federation said: “Reforming higher education with contempt for the opinions and sentiments of educators is destined to reach a dead end.”