Overview
- Congress says the Education Ministry drafted the bill without consulting states despite its direct impact on state universities, calling it a breach of the federal balance.
- A parliamentary report this week highlighted severe vacancies at existing regulators, with about 67.6% posts unfilled at the UGC and over 63.6% at AICTE.
- The bill omits a dedicated grants council envisioned by NEP 2020, and the ministry has not detailed how funding would work under the VBSA framework, according to committee discussions reported by Hindustan Times.
- Clause 49’s overriding effect and executive control by member secretaries have triggered concerns about tighter regulation of IITs, IIMs and other Institutes of National Importance and greater bureaucratisation.
- The 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee chaired by BJP MP Purandeswari held its fourth sitting on March 17 and continues to examine the draft.