NET/ SET/ SLET mandatory for direct recruitment to Assistant Professor post: UGC
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced revised regulations regarding the minimum qualifications for the appointment of teachers and academic staff in universities and colleges. According to the new regulations, the National Eligibility Test (NET), State Eligibility Test (SET), and State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) will now be mandatory criteria for direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Professor in all Higher Education Institutions. This amendment is effective from July 1, 2023.
The objective of this amendment is to maintain and improve the education standards in higher education institutions by ensuring that candidates have cleared the necessary eligibility tests for the role of Assistant Professor. The previous sub-regulation of the UGC has been replaced by this new requirement.
Additionally, the UGC chairperson, Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, shared the news through his Twitter handle, stating that a PhD qualification for appointment as an Assistant Professor would now be optional, implying that it is not mandatory for all candidates.
Overall, the UGC’s decision aims to uphold the quality of education and teaching in universities and colleges by establishing specific eligibility criteria for aspiring Assistant Professors.
According to the latest notification, starting from 1st July 2023, having a Ph.D. qualification for the appointment as an Assistant Professor will be optional. The notification confirms that the changes mentioned will come into effect from that date.
In an earlier announcement made in 2021, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had stated that a Ph.D. was not a mandatory requirement for direct recruitment of Assistant Professors until July 2023. The UGC had extended the deadline for the applicability of the Ph.D. qualification as a mandatory requirement for the recruitment of Assistant Professors in university departments from 1st July 2021 to 1st July 2023.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) plans to initiate the answer key challenge process for the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) 2023. The exact date for this process is either on 5th or 6th July, as stated by UGC chief M Jagadesh Kumar on Twitter. Furthermore, the UGC Chairman announced that the final results of the UGC-NET exams will be declared in the second week of August.
Since December 2018, the UGC-NET has been conducted by the NTA in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode. The exams take place twice a year, in December and June. UGC-NET serves as a test to assess the eligibility of Indian nationals for the positions of ‘Assistant Professor’ and ‘Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professor’ in universities and colleges across India.
