‘Might bring in single regulator for higher education in the country’

After giving greater autonomy to higher educational institutions, the government is working on a proposal to introduce a single higher education regulator in the country to replace other bodies such as the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

HRD minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday confirmed that discussions are on in this regard. In an interview to HT, he said, “The UGC is an odd combination of regulator and funding agency. Now we are going to decide what to do about these two functions.”

Currently, UGC is responsible for universities while AICTE is the apex body for technical education and NCTE is responsible for teacher education. Javadekar said, “We have three regulators in higher education — UGC, AICTE, and NCTE. So we are thinking on those lines. But till something is concretised, I can’t give more details.”

A senior HRD official, on condition of anonymity, said regulators currently have overlapping jurisdiction. “Some professional bodies like the Council of Architecture are saying that they have to regulate the education. As a result, there is a multitude of regulations, which takes away the flexibility, opportunity for innovation, and ability to respond to requirements of the market,” said the official cited above.

Another ministry official, on condition of anonymity, said government is working on creating a single body — Higher Education Evaluation and Regulation Authority (HEERA). “Regulation in higher education should protect interests of students and promote opportunities for expansion. The legislation for setting up HEERA as an overarching regulatory authority would be placed on fast track,” said the official.