The Bihar government on Thursday expressed its support for the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025, asserting that the proposed legislation could help establish a more transparent, accountable, and quality-oriented higher education system across the country.
In a memorandum submitted to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Bill in New Delhi, the state government stated that the proposed reforms have the potential to improve the quality of higher education, enhance institutional autonomy, encourage innovation, and strengthen India's position as a knowledge economy.
Presenting the state's views, higher education director Navin Kumar Agrawal said the Bill represents a significant step towards simplifying the regulatory structure of higher education and creating a transparent, accountable, and quality-driven system.
Agrawal noted that the legislation seeks to address long-standing challenges by separating the functions of regulation, accreditation, and standard-setting through specialized bodies. This, he said, is expected to reduce duplication of responsibilities and improve institutional effectiveness.
“The proposed framework is also expected to strengthen public trust through enhanced disclosure requirements, robust accreditation mechanisms, and greater emphasis on educational outcomes rather than procedural compliance alone,” he said. He emphasized that the focus on accreditation as a quality assurance mechanism would encourage institutions to continuously improve academic and administrative performance. The proposed Standards Council for determining academic standards, learning outcomes, qualifications, and credit frameworks was also a positive initiative, he added.
Agrawal said the Bihar government looks forward to continued cooperation with the Centre and other stakeholders for the successful implementation of the reforms and the development of a robust, inclusive, and world-class higher education system.
