SIO demanded to reinstate biannual UGC National Eligibility Test
NEW DELHI On 3rd November Student Islamic Organisation (SIO) protested outside the University Grant Commission (UGC) Headquarter against the CBSE decision of conductivityng National Eligibility Test (NET) singularly in a year adverse to the traditional practice of conducting the fellowship exam twice a year.
SIO has filed a petition in Delhi High court to abolish the decision of CBSE and to restore the traditional practice of conducting the NET exam biannually. SIO also demanded from the government to conduct one more session in 2017 for the students who are crossing the age limit.
After the protest, the Student Islamic Organisation has also issued a press release.
“National Eligibility test is to be held on 05.11.2017. The National Eligibility Test (N.E.T.), being conducted since 1984, is held twice a year. The Central Board of Secondary Education, which held the last National Eligibility Test, in the month of January, has not issued any public notification for the test in mid-2017. Therefore, the Central Board of Secondary Education acted arbitrarily wherein the attempts for National Eligibility Test were narrowed down to just once per year. The Central Board of Secondary Education would conduct National Eligibility Test in 84 subjects at 90 selected National Eligibility Test Cities spread across the country. It is pertinent to mention that the U.G.C. conducts both the C.S.I.R. and N.E.T. examinations. Both these tests are held twice a year, mostly in the months of June and December. The former is conducted for the Science stream, whereas the latter is conducted for all the other streams. C.B.S.E now conducts this exam, on behalf of U.G.C for the post of Lecturer and for providing the J.R.F for Indian nationals in order to ensure minimum standards for the applicants in the teaching profession and in research.
Those who aspire to be an assistant professor or work as a junior research fellow (JRF) in colleges and universities across the country are required to clear UGC-NET. In a July 11 notification, CBSE announced that the next UGC-NET exam will be held on November 5. The announcement came as a shock to teaching and research aspirants across the country who were anxiously waiting for the summer session of the test. The suspension will further accentuate shortage of qualified teachers in degree colleges. Shortage of faculty has been a big hurdle in ensuring quality education. Thousands of teaching positions are vacant in the universities across the country. In such a circumstance, suspending UGC NET may lead to annoyance among student community, and a loss to the intellectual community of India. Suspension of UGC-NET stands in contrast to UGC’s intention to make NET or State Eligibility Test (SET) mandatory for pursuing Ph.D. The decision undermines union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar, who in a recently concluded parliamentary session, had announced that majority of vacancies in Universities, would be filled up this year.
The Higher education policy in India is fraught with several dichotomies and has become a worrisome affair. It so transpires that the UGC initiated the concept a singular conduction of the National Eligibility Test arbitrarily and capriciously rescheduled the same without the consent of the University Grants Commission. The irregularities were caused on the part of the Central Board of Secondary Education which was not in accordance with the University Grants Commission. The scope of the National Entrance Test was to maintain the higher standards of education and to fill up the vacancies in the Central Universities in the field of teaching. University Grants Commission conducts both the National Eligibility Test as well as Council of Scientific & Industrial Research Examinations. It was the duty of the Central Board of Secondary Education to conduct the National Eligibility Test on behalf of the University Grants Commission thereby following the rules and procedure laid down by the commission. It was an unconstitutional act on the part of the Central Board of Secondary Education in the exercise of its power to terminate the process of examination thereby conducting only a single examination in a year. Report on the suspension of C.B.S.E U.G.C – N.E.T has created qualms in the student’s community thus augmenting to the several dichotomies existing in the higher education policy of India. The diminution in the number of attempts each year has an adverse affect on the age limit of the aspirants for Junior Research Fellowship.
SIO demands interference of UGC to direct the CBSE to waive the practice of conducting the examination singularly in a year. The Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) has filed a petition in the High Court of Delhi asking CBSE to take back its decision to suspend the tests and the honorable High Court has issued a notice to Central Government. SIO demands the government to conduct one more session in 2017 for students who are crossing the age limit.”
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