Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan speaks in the Lok Sabha on December 16, 2025 on moving the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 to a Joint Parliamentary Committee. Photo: Sansad TV via X/@dpradhanbjp The Union government’s decision to take away funding powers from the regulatory authority and create separate regulatory, accreditation, and standards councils for higher education institutions under the proposed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, was a ‘conscious‘ move in keeping with the National Education Policy 2020 suggestion to minimise conflicts of interest, senior government officials said on Tuesday (December 16, 2025). They said that this is why the Bill has segregated the three roles of regulation, accreditation, and standards-setting. However, the officials said that the grant-disbursal function currently being exercised by the University Grants Commission is proposed to be performed by the Ministry of Education. Without providing details, Education Ministry officials said that under the proposed law, the mechanism that will be used to disburse grants to Central Universities “will be similar to or better than the existing mechanisms”. They added that institutional performance on regulatory compliance will continue to be a “major factor” in deciding the quantum of funds to be distributed, but not the only one, citing the need for a “holistic view” while giving grants.
Published: December 16, 2025 4:57 pm
Source: The Hindu — Read original