RESHAPING HIGHER EDUCATION GOVERNANCE

Part of the long arc of reform amid shrinking public support

- - VISMAY BASU @ New Delhi

THE Union government's introduction of the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025 has once again brought the governance of higher education into sharp public focus. Introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 15, the bill constitutes the most farreaching legislative intervention in the sector since the establishment of the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 1956. Presented as a reform aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the vision of a 'Viksit Bharat', the bill proposes a sweeping overhaul of regulatory, accreditation, and standard-setting mechanisms governing universities and colleges across the country.

Substantively, the VBSA Bill revives the long-contested Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) framework first proposed in 2018 and withdrawn following widespread opposition from academics, student organisations, and several state governments. While the revised moniker and official narrative emphasise trust-based governance, simplification, and institutional autonomy, the underlying architecture closely resembles earlier proposals aimed at centralising regulatory authority The bill must therefore be read not in isolation, but as part of a long arc of policy reform in Indian higher education, marked by gradual centralisation, expanding managerial oversight, and declining public investment.

A brief history of public universities

In the decades following Independence, Indian higher education was shaped by a broadly shared developmental vision.

The University Education Commission (1948-49) led by S Radhakrishnan articulated a concept of universities as autonomous public institutions devoted to liberal education, critical inquiry and research. This vision was institutionalised with the creation of the UGC in 1956, which combined regulatory authority with statutory responsibility for funding universities and supporting faculty development.