New Delhi, April 3 -- The Centre has granted the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) the status of an "Institution deemed to be University under distinct category", enabling it to independently offer degree programmes as part of efforts to strengthen teacher education and educational research in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. With the new status conferred by the Union education ministry, NCERT will now be able to offer diploma, undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG), doctoral and specialised programmes, while continuing its core role in school curriculum development. Officials said the "distinct category" tag recognises NCERT's specialised national role, setting it apart from conventional universities while allowing it the autonomy to design and run academic programmes. Earlier, NCERT conducted UG and PG teacher training programmes through its six constituent Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs), affiliated with local universities across five states. The RIEs required approval from their respective affiliated universities to introduce new courses. According to a notification issued by the higher education department of the ministry on March 30, NCERT will also be permitted to establish off-campus and offshore centres "only in accordance with the norms and guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) on the subject." HT has seen a copy of the notification....