NEWS TODAY 13.12.2025

 

UGC, AICTE, NCTE to be replaced: Cabinet clears India's biggest edu overhaul bill

UGC, AICTE, NCTE to be replaced: Cabinet clears India's biggest edu overhaul bill

The Union Cabinet has approved the HECI Bill, now renamed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill, paving the way for a single higher education regulator to replace the UGC, AICTE, and NCTE. The new body will handle regulation, accreditation, and standards as proposed under NEP 2020, marking a major overhaul of India's higher education system.

The Union Cabinet has approved the HECI Bill, now renamed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill/

India Today Education Desk

New Delhi,UPDATED: Dec 12, 2025 22:52 IST

Indian higher education is about to get its biggest structural makeover in decades. The Union Cabinet has cleared a landmark bill to set up a single higher education regulator that will replace the UGC, AICTE, and NCTE — bringing all non-medical and non-law higher education under one powerful umbrella.

The proposed law, earlier known as the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill, has now been renamed the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill.

Approved on Friday, the bill fulfils a core National Education Policy (NEP 2020) vision: streamlining a sector currently governed by multiple regulators with overlapping functions.

Under the new system, the Commission will take over regulation, accreditation, and setting professional standards across higher education. Medical and law colleges remain outside its scope. Interestingly, funding — considered the fourth pillar — will not fall under the new regulator for now and will remain with the administrative ministry.

Unless the government creates a separate Higher Education Funding Authority later (as once proposed in NEP drafts), the current arrangement will continue wherein the education ministry's Department of Higher Education will oversee funding.

For decades, India’s higher education ecosystem has been split across agencies:UGC regulates non-technical higher education. AICTE oversees technical education. NCTE manages teacher education

The NEP-2020 had called the regulatory system “in need of a complete overhaul”, stressing the need for distinct, empowered bodies handling distinct roles.

Efforts to create a single regulator began with the draft HECI Bill released in 2018, but momentum picked up again after Dharmendra Pradhan took charge as Education Minister in 2021. 

With Cabinet approval now in place, the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Commission moves a step closer to reshaping the future of Indian higher education.

NEWS TODAY 12.12.2025

 

New SOP for oncologists in TN to treat ovarian, cervical, uterine cancer

New SOP for oncologists in TN to treat ovarian, cervical, uterine cancer 

The new SOP requires official government mandates, structured training programmes, resource allocation and continuous monitoring, according to the doctors.

They are now responsible for training other surgical oncologists in Tamil Nadu and also plan to raise awareness about the need for the SOP among other physicians involved in cancer treatment.(Representative image) 

R Kirubakaran Updated on: 10 Dec 2025, 8:34 am

COIMBATORE: Under the National Health Mission (NHM), a group of surgical oncologists from eight medical college hospitals across the state underwent a year-long training programme and developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that aligns with global standards for treating ovarian, cervical and uterine cancer.

They are now responsible for training other surgical oncologists in Tamil Nadu and also plan to raise awareness about the need for the SOP among other physicians involved in cancer treatment.

The new SOP requires official government mandates, structured training programmes, resource allocation and continuous monitoring, according to the doctors.

The initial group of surgical oncologists from the eight medical colleges will become master trainers and conduct phased Training of Trainers (ToT) programmes for senior oncologists and gynaecologists from other districts and institutions across the state. This approach ensures consistency in training and fosters local expertise within each facility. The training will cover surgical aspects, and related areas such as radiation oncology, pathology and diagnostic services.

Eight cancer surgeons, including three from Chennai and one each from Kancheepuram, Thanjavur, Thirunelveli, Coimbatore and Madurai, had attended a two-week training session at the Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in Hyderabad at the end of 2024 and at the Government Arignar Anna Memorial Cancer Hospital in Kancheepuram in February 2025, where they were trained by Japanese healthcare professionals, as the project is supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), according to sources.

“Following the training in skill enhancement for gynaecological cancer surgery, the participants developed an SOP that was released last month. This SOP provides detailed protocols for surgeons, anesthetists, OT nurses, and ICU nurses on treating patients with these three cancer types – from admission to discharge. The SOP aims to reduce cancer-related mortalities and morbidities,” said Dr N Selvaraj, associate professor of surgical oncology at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.

Dr N Selvaraj, one of the coordinators of the team, stated that this is the first effort to standardise cancer treatment.

Doctor associations in TN seek internship quota for foreign medical grads, plan hunger strike

Doctor associations in TN seek internship quota for foreign medical grads, plan hunger strike

The doctors also demanded that the union government must abandon its move to impose NEET exam for lab technician and paramedical courses, which aims to usurp rights of the state.

Members of the TN medical students association and Doctors’ Association for Social Equality addressing reporters in Chennai on Tuesday.

| Ashwin Prasath) Express News Service Updated on: 10 Dec 2025, 9:10 am 

CHENNAI: The Doctors’ Association for Social Equality and Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association-Foreign Wing have announced a one-day hunger strike on January 6 pressing for various demands, including allocation of 20% of total internship seats in medical colleges for foreign medical graduates (FMGs).

Addressing the press on Tuesday, the association representatives condemned the Tamil Nadu Medical Council’s (TMC) delay in implementing the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) 2022 permission for FMG training in district hospitals and called for rectifying it immediately. The state government had previously permitted FMGs to undergo Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CMRI) training in its 11 medical colleges, which has now been stopped completely.

The association added that the TMC order, mandating two or three years of compulsory internship for many FMGs, was unique to the state and contrary to NMC rules. Hostel facilities also must be provided to FMGs undergoing CMRI training, they added.

“TMC must stop treating FMG’s with neglect, discrimination and indignity. Assistance centres also should be established at the national and state level to help Tamil Nadu students studying medicine abroad,” they added.

The doctors also demanded that the union government must abandon its move to impose NEET exam for lab technician and paramedical courses, which aims to usurp rights of the state.

The state should abolish the collection of tuition fees from medical students belonging to SC/ST categories, while the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) reservation system, which is against social justice, must be reviewed, they added.

NEWS TODAY 11.12.2025