NCERT Granted Deemed University Status: Key Changes and Impact on Education

Learn about NCERT being granted deemed university status, its implications for teacher education, curriculum development, and the future of higher education in India.

Context: The Centre has conferred the status of an “Institution deemed to be University under a distinct category” on the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

Provisions for NCERT Granted Deemed University Status

Power to award degrees: With this designation, NCERT and its six regional institutes can independently design academic programmes and grant degrees.
Compliance with regulations: All courses must follow the standards set by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and remain aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Expansion of academic activities: NCERT is expected to launch research-oriented, doctoral, and innovative programmes, and may also set up off-campus and overseas centres as per UGC norms.
Non-profit character: The institution must operate strictly on a non-commercial basis, with no scope for profit-making activities.
Accreditation requirements: It is required to obtain institutional accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and programme-level evaluation from the National Board of Accreditation (NBA).
Participation in rankings: NCERT must take part in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings each year.
Adoption of digital credit system: The institution is obligated to implement the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC), including generating student IDs and uploading academic credits to a digital platform linked with the ABC system.