Congress opposes VBSA Bill to replace UGC, AICTE, NCTE

The proposed legislation to restructure the regulatory framework of higher education represents constitutional overreach by the Union government, the Congress said on Thursday (March 19, 2026). The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025, was introduced without consulting States, bureaucratises higher education, and hands over grant-giving powers to the Education Ministry that is controlled by politicians, Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said, in a statement explaining the party’s opposition to the Bill.

Mr. Ramesh added that a Parliamentary panel has flagged a high number of vacancies at existing regulatory bodies, including the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The Bill proposes to subsume these bodies and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) into a single 12-member Commission, under which three separate Regulatory, Accreditation, and Standards Councils will operate.

“This concerning news comes at a time when there is already a move to restructure the architecture of higher education regulation through the VBSA Bill, 2025,” Mr. Ramesh said.

Encroaching on State powers

Though the Centre has cited Entry 66 of the Union List in the Constitution to defend its right to introduce the Bill, the legislation gives the proposed new umbrella Commission “powers beyond this scope and specifically encroaches on State government powers”, he added.

The Bill seeks to divide UGC’s grant-giving powers from the regulatory structure to minimise conflicts of interest, with the government saying future funding mechanisms will be designed by the Education Ministry. The Congress expressed concern at the absence of a separate funding council within the new architecture, as this entails handing over grant-giving powers to the Ministry, which could be subject to political influence.

Earlier this week, however, the Ministry informed the Joint Committee of Parliament examining the Bill that a UGC-like grant-giving power will be devised and adopted under the Shiksha Adhishthan structure itself.

Tighter control

Mr. Ramesh noted that under the VBSA Bill, Member Secretaries will do the “executive running” of the Commission and the three Councils under it; under the current system, however, it is academics who run bodies like the UGC, AICTE, and NCTE.

The Congress also warned that bringing institutes of national importance, such as the IITs, IIMs, and NITs, under the ambit of the VBSA Bill could threaten their autonomy. The Bill only speaks of the autonomy of these institutions being protected, without offering any specific details, the statement said.

It also argued that the proposed overhaul of the regulatory structure dilutes UGC’s consultative requirements and expands the new structure’s powers, signalling a “tighter control” over higher educational institutions.