Why are IITs and IIMs resisting the VBSA Bill?
The IITs and IIMs, along with other Institutes of National Importance (INIs) and Central Universities, are resisting the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025, primarily due to concerns over institutional autonomy and the centralisation of regulatory powers.
The key reasons for their resistance include:
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Threat to Autonomy: The institutes have cited a critical need to protect their institutional autonomy, flagging that the Bill’s provisions for centralisation contradict the independent nature of their existing frameworks.
Overriding Existing Laws: Several institutes, including IIT-Dhanbad and IISER Kolkata, pointed out that the Bill contains provisions implying it will take precedence over the specific Acts of Parliament under which these institutes were originally established.
Regulatory Overreach: IIT Madras has specifically pushed back against clauses requiring new regulatory approvals for online programmes and the opening of new colleges, arguing that INIs should be exempt from these requirements.
Harsh Penalty Structure: There is significant criticism of the Bill's graded penalty system, which allows for fines up to ₹75 lakh and/or the closure of the institution. Institutes like IIT Bombay have argued that such penalties should only be imposed following the decision of an independent adjudicator.
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Replacement of Existing Bodies: The Bill seeks to repeal the statutory Acts governing the UGC, AICTE, and NCTE, replacing them with a single apex body, the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan. The IITs and IIMs are calling for explicit language in the Bill to exempt them from the scope of this new regulatory structure.
Additionally, some universities have raised concerns that the penalty clauses could have "differential and unintended" consequences for smaller or rural institutions that may struggle with faculty availability due to regional constraints rather than institutional negligence.
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