Higher Education and Indian Federalism: How the Centre and States Share Power

Higher education has become one of the clearest places to watch how power is shared between the Union government and the States in India. Questions about who controls rules, courses, the language of teaching, public money, and digital records have turned universities and colleges into a space where the priorities of the Centre and the States meet, and sometimes clash. Because of this, running higher education is no longer only a subject for education officials; it now touches the basic balance of power inside the Indian Union.

Under the Constitution, education sits in the Concurrent List. This means both Parliament and the State legislatures can make laws on it. In practice, though, the Union government carries more weight. Through the Ministry of Education, the University Grants Commission (UGC), and various rule-making and accreditation bodies, the Centre holds strong influence over institutions across the country. Access to central funds is also increasingly tied to following nationally designed reform plans.

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is a major attempt to redraw how higher education is organised. It proposes four-year undergraduate degrees, an Academic Bank of Credits to store earned credits digitally, multidisciplinary universities, and steps to bring foreign campuses to India. Some States have raised concerns that these changes, along with proposals to replace existing regulators such as the UGC, could reduce their own authority. Disputes over who appoints Vice-Chancellors and the role of Governors in some States have added to these tensions.

Yet the relationship is not only one of conflict. Many States, across different political lines, have picked and chosen which parts of the reforms to adopt based on local needs. Several States are even using the new rules to attract overseas universities and present themselves as regional education hubs. This points to a more negotiated style of federalism, where the Centre sets the broad framework and States handle on-the-ground steps like land clearances and infrastructure.

For aspirants, this topic is a live example of how the Concurrent List works in real life. The future of higher education governance will depend not just on constitutional text, but on how well the Centre and the States manage to balance their competing priorities within the federal structure.