Cancellation of UGC-NET will delay PhD admissions and disrupt academic calendar, says JNUTA

JNU. | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) on Friday expressed concern over the circumstances leading to the cancellation of the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET), 2024, in which more than nine lakh candidates appeared.

“This was the first time that the UGC-NET exam was supposed to be used for admission to PhD programs of universities, which is a policy framed by the UGC itself. The consequences of the cancellation this time are therefore much wider, as it means that these admissions will also be delayed and the academic calendars of the institutions will be disrupted,” the faculty said in a statement.

He adds that students will now have to mentally prepare for a new test, even if they wrote it honestly on their first attempt.

“Not much has yet been publicly revealed about the nature of the violation that occurred in the UGC-NET exam. While the quick decision to cancel it may have been motivated by the Centre’s desire to avoid another controversy like the one surrounding the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), the public has a right to know what did not work,” the statement said. , adding that he demanded the reinstatement of the JNU entrance exam conducted earlier by the university.

The Department for Education announced the cancellation of the exam on Wednesday after reports from the Home Office suggested the integrity of the exams had been compromised. The move comes amid controversy over alleged irregularities in the conduct of NEET-UG, sparking backlash from students across the country.

Meanwhile, Congress workers led by Delhi party president Devender Yadav staged a protest outside the BJP headquarters on Rouse Avenue to protest against “malpractices and corruption” in the conduct of NEET -U G. Mr. Yadav wondered why the Center refused to cancel the exam despite irregularities, when the same was done at UGC-NET.