M Jagadesh Kumar, the chairperson of the University Grants Commission (UGC), reportedly stated at the inauguration of the newly constructed UGC-HRDC building on the Osmania University (OU) campus that a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is not required for recruitment to the position of Assistant Professor in central universities. Kumar stated that passing the National Eligibility Test (NET) administered by the Commission would suffice. This decision aims to enable professionals without PhDs to be appointed as assistant professors in universities across India and to provide opportunities to experts who wish to teach but do not possess a PhD.
Kumar also stated that a national data portal is being developed to provide candidates with all UGC guidelines and other vital information. Beginning with the next academic year, the National Digital University will provide direct access to a high-quality education for students.
Previously, the Central government modified the Commission’s regulations to make a PhD the minimum requirement for appointing assistant professors. The implementation of the revised guidelines was scheduled for 2021, but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to reports, the implementation has been delayed until July 2023. Despite this, the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC NET) score has continued to be a factor in employment.
In the meantime, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has initiated the registration procedure for the December-2022 and June-2023 administrations of the Joint CSIR-UGC NET Examination. Candidates can submit their applications at csirnet.nta.nic.in. The application process will remain open until April 10 at 5:00 p.m., while the deadline for submitting an application with a late fee is April 10 at 11:50 p.m. The same examination will be administered on June 6, 7, and 8.
The examination is administered to ascertain the eligibility of Indian nationals for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), lectureship (LS), and assistant professor positions in Indian universities. Chemical sciences, earth, atmospheric, ocean, and planetary sciences, life sciences, mathematical sciences, and physical sciences are covered on the exam. The exam will be administered in English and Hindi.
