Relevance: GS-2 (Education Policy, Governance)

Source: The Hindu

News

The government plans to establish the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Commission (VBSAC) to replace the fragmented higher-education regulatory system and bring all functions under a single architecture, as envisioned by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The Fragmented Regulatory Framework

India’s higher-education regulation is currently split across multiple bodies:

• University Grants Commission (UGC) – funding and academic standards
• All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) – technical institutions
• National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) – teacher education

This overlap results in regulatory duplication, inconsistent standards, slow approvals, and limited accountability.
VBSAC aims to unify standards-setting, accreditation, funding, and regulation under one roof.

Implications and Significance

• Ensures coherent and predictable regulatory governance.
• Reduces compliance burden for universities and promotes multidisciplinary growth.
• Strengthens quality assurance, supports research expansion, and aligns institutions with NEP goals.
• Helps India move towards a globally benchmarked higher-education ecosystem.

UPSC Prelims Value Box

• NEP 2020 recommended a single higher-education regulator excluding medical and legal education.
• India has over 1,100 universities and 43 million learners, making unified regulation essential.
• Regulatory fragmentation refers to multiple bodies with overlapping roles leading to inefficiency.
• Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Commission (VBSAC) – proposed unified regulator to replace UGC, AICTE, and NCTE.