3 min readNew DelhiAug 11, 2026 11:25 AM IST
The Ministry of Education on Monday reiterated that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been granted the status of an institution deemed to be a university. In a Lok Sabha response, the Ministry said the NCERT application was examined by a University Grants Commission (UGC) expert committee under the UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2023, which recommended granting the status to the institution.
Based on the UGC’s advice, the Ministry of Education declared NCERT, New Delhi, an institution ‘Deemed to be University’ under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, through a notification dated March 30. The declaration was subject to NCERT taking steps to commence research programmes as well as doctoral and innovative academic programmes, the Ministry said.
The Ministry further said that the deemed university status would strengthen NCERT’s role in promoting educational research and innovation and enable it to collaborate with national and international agencies. It would also reinforce the council’s role as a think tank and national resource institution providing technical support to the Central and state governments.
As earlier reported by The Indian Express, the announced and subsequent changes will mark a significant expansion of NCERT’s role beyond its traditional mandate as the country’s apex school education body. The new status enables the institution to develop academic programmes, including doctoral and innovative courses, and expand its research activities.
The declaration covers NCERT and its six constituent units. These include the Regional Institutes of Education in Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Mysuru and Shillong, along with the Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education in Bhopal.
The process to grant the new status had begun with NCERT applying through the UGC portal. A Letter of Intent was issued in August 2023, as per the report, following which NCERT submitted a compliance report in November last year. The report was examined and accepted by the UGC’s Expert Committee, with the proposal subsequently approved at the Commission’s 595th meeting held on January 30, 2026.
The notification released earlier this year also laid conditions governing NCERT’s functioning as a deemed university. Its academic programmes will have to conform to UGC norms and standards, while new courses and off-campus centres will have to follow the applicable UGC guidelines. NCERT has also been barred from undertaking activities that are commercial and profit-making in nature.
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The institution will further have to participate in the annual National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings and seek accreditation from bodies such as the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and the National Board of Accreditation (NBA). It will also be required to establish an Academic Bank of Credits and upload students’ credit records to digital lockers, as done by recognised higher education institutions.
The decision had also been preceded by concerns within NCERT over the implications of the proposed transition. As reported by The Indian Express in 2022, an assistant professor had cautioned the NCERT director that granting deemed university status could affect the council’s academic autonomy and increase its dependence on UGC regulations.
The government had earlier considered granting NCERT the status of an “institution of national importance”. The proposal, however, appears to have been set aside as the government proceeded with the deemed university route.