UGC amends rules for PhD admissions
The UGC has declared that beginning with the academic year 2024-25, PhD students will be given admission based on their National Eligibility Test (NET) scores
In a landmark decision made by the University Grants Commission (UGC), aspirants for PhD admission will not be required to take university entrance exams.
The UGC has declared that beginning with the academic year 2024-25, PhD students will be given admission based on their National Eligibility Test (NET) scores.
The UGC Council approved new guidelines for PhD admissions under the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020. According to these guidelines, NET qualifiers will be eligible for three categories. Students with the highest NET scores will be placed in Category 1.
They will also be eligible for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), an assistant professorship, and PhD admission and fellowship.
They would have to give an interview for PhD admission, which will be based on UGC regulations 2022.
Following that, students with the highest percentage will be placed in the second group. These students will be considered for assistant professorship and PhD admissions.
Students who pass the exam but with a lower percentage will be placed in category 3. The candidate’s rank will be included in the final result certificate.
“For PhD admission, the net percentage of candidates in categories 2 and 3 will be considered for 70% weightage, while the interview will be weighted at 30%. The NET score in both categories will be valid for one year only, and if they do not participate in the PhD programme within that time frame, they will be ineligible for it. According to the circular released by UGC on Thursday, the candidate would have to retake the NET examination.
