The delay in the University Grants Commission - National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) June 2024 exam results is worrying students and candidates alike.

The June session exam, which was conducted on June 18 was cancelled on June 19 and this is already a worry for students.

"Initially we're all worried when the exam got cancelled in June. Now, we all know that the academic cycle has been delayed already and we were mentally prepared for it," says Nirvik Chakraborty, who pursued MA Communication from University of Hyderabad (UoH). He also says that usually, it takes about a month's time for the results to be declared, so it is not a major issue.

Maheshwar Sethi, a second year MA Political Science student of the University of Hyderabad points out that while it is true that universities are conducting their own exams, smaller universities that depend on UGC, "have infrastructural issues and can't conduct exams without prior planning".

Sethi, who is expecting to crack the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) based on the provisional answer key, goes on to add, "The JRF holders have a lot of value. All the institutions want to admit these candidates. If they conduct individual exams, they won't have access to the quality candidates that are facilitated by centralised exams like UGC NET."

While PhD aspirant Nirvik is of the opinion that the UGC NET score for PhD admission is valid for one year, students have the option of attempting the exam in December or joining universities that are still waiting to admit students on the NET score.

"Due to UGC’s negligence and incapability which we've all seen, the December term exam will also be delayed. Students who are not yet sure about marks and planning to appear in December will have less time to prepare. It will be a burden on them," says Sethi.