MPs give inputs on Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill; panel chief says will address concerns

New Delhi, Feb 26 (PTI) The joint committee of Parliament set up to examine the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill received inputs on Thursday from the members on the legislation and said it will take care of their concerns.

The Bill seeks to establish a single higher education regulator.

The committee will receive suggestions on the Bill from all stakeholders, such as universities and higher education institutions, in future meetings.

"Today we had the first meeting of the joint committee. Today, the Bill was presented to the members so that they have a complete understanding of the Bill.

"Officers from the ministries of the HRD and Law were present. They gave us good briefings. They told us the nuances of the Bill. Now the members are in command, what the Bill actually is," D Purandeswari, chairperson of the committee, told reporters after the meeting.

She said all parties, cutting across their political idealogies, were represented in the meeting and they contributed by saying whatever they had to on the Bill.

"The committee will go into each of the concerns that have been raised or rather the inputs that have been given... to the committee and we will take all of them onboard," Purandeswari said.

Sources said a few members belonging to the opposition parties expressed their "opposition" to the Bill saying the legislation, if enacted, "will hurt the federal structure" as "too much power has been given to the central government".

There are 31 members in the committee.

According to a Lok Sabha secretariat notification issued on February 10, the committee comprises members from both Houses of Parliament and will scrutinise the provisions of the proposed legislation before submitting its report.

The VBSA Bill, introduced during the Winter session, seeks to overhaul the higher education regulatory framework in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. The proposed legislation aims to replace multiple existing regulators with a single overarching body and provide for the separation of accreditation, funding and standard-setting functions.

The government had told the Lok Sabha its intent to send the Bill to a joint panel for wider consultations amid concerns raised by opposition parties over issues relating to federalism, institutional autonomy and centralisation of powers.

The JPC is expected to invite suggestions from stakeholders, including state governments and academic bodies, before finalising its recommendations.

Those who are part of the committee are: Anurag Singh Thakur, Vivek Thakur, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Vamsi Krishna Gaddam, Tejasvi Surya, Sribharat Mathukumilli, Sudhanshu Trivedi, Pradip Kumar Varma, Meenakshi Jain, M Thambidurai, Sagarika Ghosh, Sambit Patra, Hemang Joshi, Sougata Ray, Indra Hang Subba, Digvijaya Singh, E T Mohammed Basheer, Sasmit Patra, Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, Bansuri Swaraj, Brijmohan Agrawal, Lalji Verma, Ram Gopal Yadav, Surendra Singh Nagar, Varsha Gaikwad, Alok Kumar Suman, Anil Desai, Sanjay Kumar Jha, T R Baalu and Shrikant Shinde. PTI ACB ACB KSS KSS