UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — How regulation stifles HEIs

Q1. With reference to the constitutional distribution of legislative power over higher education in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Union's power over coordination and determination of standards in higher education extends only to centrally funded institutions, leaving State universities wholly to State laws.
  2. The Concurrent List entry on education, including universities, is expressly made subject to the Union List entries on institutions of national importance and on standards in higher education.
  3. An institution can be declared an institution of national importance only by Parliament by law, and not by an executive notification.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. A State legislature is competent to enact a law establishing a university in that State.
  2. Coordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education is a subject in the Union List.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. Consider the following facts about the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025: it would repeal the Acts that set up the UGC, AICTE and NCTE; its single Commission would cover general, technical, teacher and architecture education; medical, legal and other professional courses are excluded; and the Council of Architecture is not abolished. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

  1. Even after the Bill is enacted, more than one national body would regulate professional higher education in India.
  2. Teacher education would lose its statutory regulator and be governed only by executive guidelines of the Union Ministry.
  3. Institutions offering architecture programmes could be answerable to two national bodies on overlapping matters.
  4. Medical colleges would no longer be subject to any national-level regulator once the UGC Act is repealed.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q4. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Under the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, grants to centrally funded higher educational institutions would be disbursed through the Union Ministry of Education rather than through the Commission.
  2. The National Education Policy 2020 recommended that the regulatory architecture for higher education contain no funding body, leaving grants entirely to the line ministry.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q5. With reference to accreditation, ranking and regulation of higher educational institutions in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Accreditation assesses an institution against set quality benchmarks, whereas a ranking framework such as NIRF orders institutions relative to one another.
  2. Under existing UGC arrangements, NAAC accreditation scores have served as a basis for granting graded autonomy to universities.
  3. Under the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, the Accreditation Council would empanel accrediting institutions rather than itself being the sole assessor of every HEI.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q6. Consider the following assertion: 'A high accreditation score is not, by itself, proof of high-quality teaching and learning in a higher educational institution.' Which of the statements given below support/supports the above assertion?

  1. Accreditation largely checks documented compliance with prescribed criteria, which an institution can satisfy on paper.
  2. Integrity problems have been documented in the accreditation process in India.
  3. As of 2022, only a minority of colleges in India held any accreditation.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1 only

Q7. The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) soon after its introduction. With reference to JPCs, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. A JPC is a standing committee reconstituted every year, like the Public Accounts Committee.
  2. The scope of a JPC is set by the motion constituting it and need not be limited to scrutiny of government finances.
  3. The government is legally bound to accept a JPC's recommendations on a Bill referred to it.
  4. A JPC can be constituted through a motion adopted in one House and agreed to by the other.
  • A. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 and 4 only

Q8. With reference to the existing statutory framework that the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 proposes to replace, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The UGC Act, 1956 states its purpose as the coordination and determination of standards in universities.
  2. Teacher education is at present regulated under a statute separate from both the UGC Act and the AICTE Act.
  3. Each deemed-to-be university derives its status from a separate Act of Parliament enacted for that institution.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3