UGC, AICTE, and NCTE will be merged into a single higher education regulator following the Union Cabinet’s approval of the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill. The proposed legislation aims to restructure India’s higher education ecosystem by streamlining regulatory functions under one central authority.
The Bill is expected to be introduced in the winter session of Parliament. Once enacted, it will replace the existing multiple-regulator framework with a unified system focused on accreditation, standard setting, and coordinated governance.
Single Higher Education Regulator Under New Bill
As per the proposed Higher Education Commission framework, the current regulatory bodies will cease to function independently. The University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) will be subsumed into one overarching regulator.
At present, UGC regulates non-technical higher education, AICTE oversees technical institutions, and NCTE governs teacher education programmes. The government stated that the multiple-regulator system often leads to overlap, delays, and compliance challenges for institutions.
The new regulator will act as a single authoritative platform to ensure quality, consistency, and transparency across higher education institutions in the country.
Alignment With National Education Policy Reforms
The proposed merger is aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP), which calls for a comprehensive overhaul of higher education regulation. NEP has defined four core functions for governing higher education: regulation, accreditation, funding, and standard setting.
Under the current proposal, the new higher education regulator will handle regulation, accreditation, and academic standards. The funding function will remain outside its scope and continue to be managed by the respective administrative ministries.
According to NEP documents, separating funding from regulation is intended to reduce conflicts of interest and promote objective decision-making in academic governance.
Expected Impact on Higher Education Institutions
The government expects the single-regulator model to provide greater clarity and ease of compliance for universities and colleges. Institutions will no longer need to approach multiple bodies for approvals, accreditation, and academic guidelines.
The unified system is also expected to improve accountability and ensure consistent quality benchmarks across technical, non-technical, and teacher education programmes. Officials indicated that technology-driven accreditation and transparent standards will be central to the new framework.
Long-Term Vision for Higher Education Governance
The NEP emphasises reforming regulatory mechanisms to allow higher education in India to grow sustainably over the coming decades. The merger of UGC, AICTE, and NCTE is seen as a key structural reform to reduce bureaucratic complexity and encourage institutional autonomy.
Once the Bill is passed by Parliament, detailed rules and transition mechanisms are expected to be notified to facilitate the shift from the existing bodies to the new higher education regulator.
