Federalism in India’s Higher Education Framework

Shared jurisdiction has made higher education a principal arena of Centre-State contestation over regulation, curriculum, and funding.

Nature of Federalism in India’s Higher Education System

Concurrent Shift: The 42nd Amendment placed education under Entry 25, Concurrent List, with Union law prevailing over State legislation under Article 254 in case of conflict.
Dual Authority: Entry 66 (Union List) reserves academic standards exclusively to Parliament, whereas Entry 32 (State List) empowers states to incorporate, regulate, and wind up universities.
Union Jurisdiction: Under Entries 63-65 of the Union List, Parliament has exclusive jurisdiction over Central Universities and Institutions of National Importance, such as IITs.
UGC Role: University Grants Commission, constituted under the UGC Act, 1956, is the statutory apex body that enforces academic standards and disburses development grants.
Professional Councils: National Medical Commission (NMC) and AICTE enforce uniform licensing standards and infrastructure benchmarks for state medical and engineering colleges.
Chancellor Role: Centrally appointed Governors serve as ex officio Chancellors of state universities, exercising independent statutory authority without the Council of Ministers’ advice.
Funding Model: Higher education funding follows a shared model. The Centre funds infrastructure through PM-USHA, while states directly bear the recurring operational costs.

Constitutional Framework of Federalism

Article 1: Declares India as a “Union of States,” ensuring indissoluble unity with constitutionally recognised States.
Division of Powers: The Seventh Schedule distributes legislative authority into the Union List, the State List, and the Concurrent List.
Article 246: Clearly demarcates legislative competence between Parliament and State Legislatures.
Article 254: Establishes Union primacy in case of conflict on Concurrent List subjects.
Fiscal Federalism (Article 280): Provides for a Finance Commission to recommend tax devolution between the Union and the States.
Basic Structure Doctrine: Federalism recognised as part of the Constitution’s Basic Structure in S.R. Bommai (1994).

Recommendations for Cooperative Federalism in Higher Education

Sarkaria Commission (1988): Limit the Union’s concurrent educational role to academic standard-setting and leave administrative execution to state governments.
National Knowledge Commission (2007): Establish an Independent Regulatory Authority for Higher Education (IRAHE) to insulate higher education governance from political interference.
Yashpal Committee (2009): Replace UGC, AICTE, and allied regulators with the National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) to preserve regional academic flexibility.
Punchhi Commission (2010): Divest Governors of ex officio Chancellorships at state universities and appoint eminent academicians in their place to prevent institutional politicisation.
Joint Parliamentary Committee (2025): Ensure the VBSA Bill guarantees adequate state representation and prevents the transfer of grant-disbursal powers to the Union Ministry of Education.

Federal Challenges in India’s Higher Education System

Executive Deadlocks: Conflicts between state governments and centrally appointed Governors over Vice-Chancellor appointments lead to administrative paralysis and governance vacuums.
Fiscal Conditioning: PM-USHA restricts state fiscal autonomy in higher education planning by tying central development grants to state compliance with NEP 2020 mandates.
Admissions Disadvantage: Centralised testing, such as NEET and CUET, creates structural barriers that disproportionately disadvantage rural, regional-language, and state-board students.
Spending Stagnation: India’s public higher education spending has stagnated at ~1% of GDP, leaving states unable to fill faculty vacancies or maintain infrastructure.
Regulatory Overhaul: Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, proposes replacing the UGC and existing regulators, raising state concerns about further centralisation of higher education governance.

Way Forward

Fiscal Strengthening: Raise public education spending towards the Kothari Commission’s 6% of GDP target to address chronic underfunding.
Shared Governance: Institutionalise regular Centre-State consultations and ensure adequate state representation in bodies proposed under the VBSA framework.
Governance Reforms: Implement Punchhi Commission recommendations by replacing Governors as Chancellors with eminent academicians.
Balanced Regulation: Limit Union intervention to academic standards, while preserving state administrative autonomy.
Inclusive Access: Promote multilingual entrance examinations, digital infrastructure, and targeted support for rural, regional-language and state-board students.

“Unity in diversity is India’s strength.” Sustainable higher-education governance requires genuine Centre-State partnership, respect for regional aspirations, and shared responsibility for quality outcomes.

Reference: The Hindu

PMF IAS Pathfinder for Mains – Question 716

Q. India’s higher education system reflects an uneasy balance between national standardisation and state autonomy. Examine the federal challenges in higher education governance and suggest measures to strengthen cooperative federalism. (250 words) (15 marks)

Approach

Introduction: Write a brief introduction about Indian federalism.
Body: Write about the higher education federalism, federal challenges in higher education governance and suggest measures to strengthen cooperative federalism.
Conclusion: Emphasis on a balanced approach to strengthen cooperative federalism.