VBSA Bill threatens university autonomy and leaves States with little role in higher education: KN Ganesh

Historian and educationist K.N. Ganesh has warned that the proposed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill could fundamentally alter India’s higher education governance by concentrating regulatory powers in the hands of the Central government, weakening the constitutional role of States and undermining the autonomy of universities.

Delivering the keynote address at a State-level academic workshop organised by the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) here on Saturday, Prof. Ganesh said the proposed legislation represents the latest phase in a long process of centralisation and market-oriented reforms in higher education.

Addressing the theme ‘The VBSA Bill: A critical reading of the structure of Indian higher education, university autonomy and the powers of States’, he pointed out that the Bill would establish a highly centralised regulatory framework, leaving State governments with little or no meaningful role in higher education governance.