How the NEP is Reshaping Autonomy for Minority Institutions
Bupinder Singh Bali | 28 March 2026 | The Wire
As India’s higher education system reorganises itself under the National Education Policy 2020, a quieter constitutional question is taking shape: what happens to institutional autonomy when governance is redefined through standardisation, metrics and centralised regulation? However, most of the public debate on the policy has focussed on its other aspects – curriculum reform, multidisciplinary expansion and institutional consolidation.
The Union Budget 2026-27 increased education allocation to Rs 1,39,289 crore, an 8.27% rise that signals NEP implementation has entered its operational phase. Less examined, however, is a constitutional question: how does a governance model built on standardisation, performance metrics and regulatory restructuring interact with the autonomy granted to minority educational institutions?