UGC Mandating NET Score For PhD Admissions Is A Good Move With Practical Issues, Says ExpertIn its 578th meeting, the University Grants Commission (UGC) announced that scores of the National Eligibility Test (NET) will be valid for PhD admissions from the 2024-25 academic session. The decision was taken in pursuance of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. So far, several varsities conduct separate PhD entrance tests and candidates are required to write separate exams for admission.
As per the UGC chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, the National Testing Agency (NTA) is planning to implement the changes next week and the decision will be implemented in the upcoming session. However, for creating a merit list for PhD admissions, 70 percent weightage will be given to the UGC NET scores and 30 percent to the interviews. Moreover, the NET scorecard will remain valid only for 1 year.
PhD Admission on the basis of UGC NET, No Separate Entrance Exams Required: UGC https://t.co/LfQzUbiJSp
— Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar (@mamidala90) March 28, 2024
The UGC decision brings mixed reactions from academic circles. Timeline reached out to experts to know their views about the recent changes.
Dr Abdul Rahman, the former TISS faculty said, “The overall intention behind the move seems good. It will save applicants from multiple exams and reduce the hassle mostly unnecessary.” He also mentioned some issues associated with the decision. “However, there are some practical issues that need to be resolved, Number one, there are several disciplines that do not have NET such as Development studies and several such interdisciplinary PhDs. Number two, the PhD scores are valid for just one year which makes no sense”, he added.
The UGC decision is hailed for bringing parity to the exam level by another academician. “The move will save candidates time and resources. Nonetheless, the single exam for the PhD will put additional pressure on candidates as it will become more competitive.” said Uzma Parveen, PhD scholar at Jamia Millia Islamia. “Additionally, candidate will get a single chance instead of getting multiple chances for writing different exams to get improvisation in a single session. This can reduce chances of an average candidate to clear exam in one session”, she asserted.
Notably, NET is conducted twice a year, in June and December, to provide a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and to select Assistant Professors. Now with this announcement, UGC NET-qualified candidates will be eligible for three categories:
PhD admission with JRF and assistant professor posts
Ph.D. admission without JRF and for assistant professor posts
Only for Ph.D. program admission.
According to the UGC chairman, the NET application process for the June 2024 session will start next week.