Stiff penalties mark big policy shift in regulating higher education
Manash.Gohain@timesofindia.com 16.12.2025
New Delhi : For the first time, the govt has proposed a graded penalty regime for higher education institutions, with fines ranging from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, suspension of degree-awarding powers and closure, while illegal institutions could face a ₹2 crore penalty and immediate shutdown, with safeguards to protect enrolled students.
The proposed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, placed in Lok Sabha marks a decisive shift in how higher education institutions will be regulated, moving away from advisory nudges to a system driven by statutory penalties, mandatory transparency and accreditationlinked autonomy. Under the graded penalty framework — proposed with hard financial consequences for regulatory violations — institutions found violating provisions of the law or its regulations could face fines starting at ₹10 lakh, escalating to ₹30 lakh for repeat offences, and going up to ₹75 lakh for persistent violations.
In extreme cases, regulators can recommend suspension of degree-awarding powers, withdrawal of affiliation or even closure. Every year the UGC, which will cease to exist, used to notify a list of fake universities, but beyond that no action could be initiated and they continued to function at the cost of unsuspecting students, many of whom were left with invalid degrees and financial losses. The bill introduced a ₹2 crore penalty for unauthorised institutions operating without govt approval, along with immediate closure
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