UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

NEP 2020 states that HECI will have four distinct verticals: National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC), National Accreditation Council (NAC), Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) and General Education Council (GEC). Each will focus on a specific function. This separation is meant to avoid conflicts of interest.

Option A:
This set correctly lists the four verticals proposed under HECI, matching the policy: NHERC for regulation, NAC for accreditation, HEGC for funding and GEC for academic standards.

Option B:
UGC, AICTE, NCTE and NCERT are existing bodies in higher or school education, but NEP 2020 does not designate them as the four HECI verticals.

Option C:
NTA, CBSE, NIOS and NCERT are mainly assessment and school-curriculum bodies, not the higher education regulatory verticals under HECI.

Option D:
RBI and SEBI are financial and securities-market regulators with no role in higher education governance; combining them with NHERC and GEC does not reflect the HECI structure.

NEP 2020 outlines four independent verticals under HECI: NHERC for regulation, NAC for accreditation, HEGC for grants and GEC for academic standards. These functions cover key aspects of quality assurance and resource allocation in higher education.

Option A:
This option correctly lists the core functions around which HECI is structured. It shows the separation of roles intended to avoid conflicts of interest, so it is the right answer.

Option B:
Sports and canteen management are institutional operational matters and are not the focus of HECI’s verticals.

Option C:
Advertising functions are not the central regulatory tasks described in the policy; HECI’s role is more substantive.

Option D:
Student union affairs are largely internal to institutions and not the specific domain of HECI in NEP 2020.

HEGC is envisaged as the vertical responsible for financing HEIs. It will allocate funds and grants based on merit, needs and performance. Separating funding from regulation avoids conflicts of interest and improves fairness.

Option A:
Exam patterns in schools are managed under school boards and PARAKH, not HEGC.

Option B:
This option correctly describes HEGC’s financial function in the HECI structure.

Option C:
Criminal investigations belong to law enforcement agencies, not grant councils.

Option D:
Accreditation remains the responsibility of NAC, not HEGC.