Dharmendra Pradhan Announces Deemed University Status for NCERT

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Friday that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been bestowed with the designation of a deemed university. This announcement was made during an event commemorating the 63rd anniversary of NCERT in the capital city. “Today, I want to announce that we are granting the status of deemed to be university to NCERT,” he said. Pradhan also advocated for the integration of Bal Bhavans and Bal Vatika into NCERT to provide comprehensive education to children.

NCERT was founded in 1961 under the Society Act with the purpose of assisting and advising the government in matters related to school education.
Institutions of higher education, distinct from universities, that excel in a particular field of study can be designated as ‘Deemed-to-be-universities’ by the Central government upon the recommendation of the UGC. Such institutions with this status enjoy the academic privileges and recognition similar to universities.

With the conferred ‘Deemed-to-be-university’ status, NCERT will now have the authority to offer its own undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral degrees.
Pradhan inaugurated three laboratories, including one focused on virtual reality education and another dedicated to teacher training.

During his speech, Pradhan drew a comparison between Chandrayaan-3 and the National Education Policy, expressing confidence that the new education policy would achieve success similar to the recent ISRO project.

“The credit for the Chandrayaan-3’s successful handling should also go to NCERT as it is where the idea of such projects germinate,” said Pradhan.
“NEP is like Chandrayaan-3. It would be successful. Nothing can stop it,” he added