Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is considering reverting to its traditional in-house entrance examinations for PhD admissions, potentially ending the outsourcing of these tests to the National Testing Agency (NTA). This change follows the recent cancellation of the UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) by the Indian government due to potential integrity issues.
JNU’s Vice Chancellor Santishree D. Pandit said that they have begun the process and they are taking into account the opinion of all stakeholders while considering this decision.
A few months ago, the university had decided to use NET scores for admissions in alignment with the National Education Policy 2020, instead of the NTA entrance test for selecting PhD candidates. However, the sudden cancellation of the June 2024 NET has led to a reevaluation of this approach.
On July 3, Santishree D. Pandit began discussions about reviving the university’s own entrance examination system. This move has been welcomed by the JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA), as it aligns with their long-standing position on admission processes.
For the past three years, the National Testing Agency had been conducting computer-based tests for PhD admissions, a practice that has faced growing criticism from the university community.
This year, JNU announced a change in its selection process for PhD admissions. Starting this academic year, JNU will accept the National Eligibility Test (NET) score instead of conducting its own entrance exam, aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
On June 19, 2024, the Central Government canceled the NET, which is crucial for entry-level teaching jobs and PhD admissions in universities, following inputs from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) indicating that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised.
In a statement, the JNU Teachers Association said that they welcome the decisions made during the meeting of the Vice Chancellor and Deans of Schools on July 3, 2024, as well as the decision to seek input from the faculty of Schools/Centres.
He added that JNUTA views this as a validation of its long-standing stance on entrance examinations and a positive response to the specific demand it raised following the cancellation of the June 2024 UGC-NET Examination.
