In a significant announcement, Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), has opened doors for students with four-year undergraduate degrees to directly pursue a PhD and appear for the National Eligibility Test (NET). This move marks a departure from the earlier requirement for NET candidates to possess a master’s degree with a minimum of 55 percent marks.
Eligibility Criteria for PhD Pursuit and NET – Under the new guidelines, candidates holding four-year undergraduate degrees are eligible to pursue a PhD and sit for the NET. Regardless of their bachelor’s degree discipline, these candidates can choose the subject in which they wish to pursue a PhD. However, to qualify for a PhD program with or without a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), candidates must achieve a minimum of 75 percent marks or equivalent grades in their four-year undergraduate course.
Some Relaxation for Certain Categories are decided, Chairman Kumar mentioned that a relaxation of five percent marks or equivalent grade may be applicable to candidates belonging to SC, ST, OBC (non-creamy layer), differently-abled, economically weaker sections, and other eligible categories, as decided by the UGC.
The UGC-NET examination determines the eligibility of Indian nationals for several academic opportunities, including the “award of Junior Research Fellowship and appointment as assistant professor,” “appointment as assistant professor and admission to PhD,” and “admission to PhD only” in Indian universities and colleges.
The Changes in the Examination Format of this year is, the UGC-NET will be conducted in offline mode instead of the usual Computer Based Test. The examinations for all subjects are scheduled to take place on June 16.
The Application Process for UGC-NET – window for the UGC-NET examination opened recently and will remain accessible until May 10. This extension of eligibility criteria is expected to broaden access to higher education and research opportunities for students across various academic backgrounds.