NCERT Set to Become Deemed University by January-End: Sources

The National Council of Educational Research and Training is expected to move beyond school-level work, as the Ministry of Education is preparing to grant NCERT deemed-to-be-university status, allowing the institution to offer its own higher education degrees and deepen its role in India’s research ecosystem.

Sources in the Ministry of Education said groundwork for this upgrade is almost complete, and the University Grants Commission is likely to take a final decision in an upcoming meeting, which could clear the way for NCERT to join the list of India’s deemed universities within this month.

NCERT deemed university status: new powers and academic role

NCERT currently operates as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, shaping school education policies through curriculum frameworks, textbooks, teacher education and educational research, but the NCERT deemed-to-be-university status would allow it to function like a full research university and significantly widen its academic responsibilities.

After NCERT is notified as a deemed university, it will be allowed to design and run its own higher education programmes, award graduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees, and expand in-house research projects, thereby linking its long experience in school education with formal university-level teaching and research activities.

NCERT deemed university status: how the process works

Under Indian law, the University Grants Commission recognises universities using powers given by the UGC Act, 1956, and a deemed-to-be-university tag is offered only to institutions that show strong performance in a specialised field, following UGC recommendations and final approval from the Central government.

According to UGC data, there are about 145 deemed universities across India at present, with the Indian Institute of Science becoming the first institution to receive this label in 1958, while Tamil Nadu now has the highest count of such institutions, which enjoy autonomy over courses, curricula, admission norms and fee structures.

A senior official told news agency ANI that procedural work is mostly over and the pending step is a formal meeting of the University Grants Commission, stating, "The preparation has been done. The UGC has to hold a meeting to make a decision. We are hopeful that once the next meeting takes place, the update will come by the end of the month," indicating that NCERT’s change of status could be announced soon.

Ministry sources also said the restructured institution would continue to rely primarily on funding from the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Ministry of Education, suggesting that NCERT’s school-focused mandate will stay central even as the NCERT deemed university status opens space for advanced research and international academic partnerships.

The shift towards NCERT deemed-to-be-university status was first revealed in 2023, when Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the idea was to develop NCERT as a research university that could build global collaborations and contribute more directly to educational scholarship worldwide, and the current process reflects that plan moving into its final regulatory stage.