With seven bills of the HRD ministry still pending in Parliament, minister Kapil Sibal introduced one more on Wednesday that seeks to establish National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER), a regulatory body in higher education to oversee universities and technical institutes other than medical education.

The Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011, would aim to promote autonomy of higher educational institutions and universities for free pursuit of knowledge and innovation. NCHER will subsume all existing regulatory bodies, including UGC, AICTE, Distance Education Council and National Council for Teacher Education. Professional bodies like the Medical Council of India, Bar Council of India and Council of Architects would be divested of their academic functions. The Commission will consist of a chairperson and six other members, to be appointed by the President.