The Congress has opposed the proposed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025, alleging it amounts to constitutional overreach and could compromise the academic and institutional autonomy of Institutes of National Importance (INIs).
The VBSA Bill seeks to replace the UGC, AICTE, and NCTE, and provides for the repeal of the UGC Act, 1956, the AICTE Act, 1987, and the NCTE Act, 1993.
The Congress alleged that the Union education ministry has not consulted state governments in the drafting of this bill, even though education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution.
The party cited a parliamentary panel report which highlighted shockingly high number of vacancies in key regulatory agencies like the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
The Congress also pointed to deviations from the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which envisioned a Higher Education Council of India with four verticals.
The party criticised the proposed bureaucratic control, stating the administration of education should be done by academics rather than by bureaucrats.
