The University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) could be replaced by the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) from this year. A single higher education regulator replacing the three could come into existence by the end of this year. The draft bill for the formation of HECI is almost ready and is likely to be presented in the monsoon session of Parliament, slated to begin on July 18, reported a leading news daily.
The draft bill is being finalised by UGC and was also discussed at the three-day education conference organised by the Ministry of Education in Varanasi earlier this month. Confirming the development, UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar said, “We are working on the HECI draft bill. But more importantly, it will be discussed with the stakeholders for their feedback to design the structure of HECI.”
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The HECI is the key regulator mentioned in the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 as a regulatory system needed for a complete overhaul to “re-energize” the higher education sector. The NEP adds that the new system should ensure that the distinct functions of regulation, accreditation, funding, and academic standard setting are performed by distinct, independent, and empowered bodies.
Presently, the UGC oversees non-technical higher education while AICTE and NCTE are responsible for monitoring technical education and teachers’ education in the country.
The report quoted a source as saying that HECI will have four verticals to handle the various function of the regulatory body. It will include the National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) for regulation of all higher education institutions (both technical and non-technical) and the National Accreditation Council (NAC) as a single point for accreditation of institutions. The proposed HECI will also have Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) to oversee the disbursement of grants to institutions, and a General Education Council (GEC) to frame learning outcomes expected from higher education institutions.
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