On July 14, the Delhi University (DU) Vice-Chancellor Prof Yogesh Singh stated that the university has no plans to hold separate PhD entrance exams like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Further, the VC added that the university is awaiting guidance from the University Grants Commission (UGC), ANI reported.
Following the centre's cancellation of the UGC-NET exam, the uncertainty surrounding the PhD admissions arose. Conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), this exam determines eligibility for teaching positions and is necessary for entry into PhD programmes.
"We have no plans to hold a separate in-house PhD entrance exam. We will follow whatever UGC suggests. We have not received any communication from the NTA and are awaiting their guidance. We expect the academic session for PhD to be delayed by a month," he told ANI.
Singh's comments were in response to queries about whether DU planned to conduct its own entrance test following the controversy surrounding the NTA's UGC NET exam.
To recall, on June 19, the Centre cancelled the exam after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) raised concerns about the integrity of the examination. Meanwhile, JNU is considering abandoning the UGC NET exam for PhD admissions and reverting to an in-house entrance test. This year, JNU announced it would accept the National Eligibility Test (NET) scores instead of conducting its entrance test, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, ANI reported.
The UGC, in a notification dated March 27, 2024, decided that from the academic session 2024-25, the NET score could be used for PhD admissions in place of entrance tests conducted by various universities and higher education institutions (HEIs).
