UGC to revise National Eligibility Test syllabus, says Chairman Jagadesh Kumar

The University Grants Commission (UGC) will revise the syllabus for the National Eligibility Test (NET) syllabus, Chairman Jagadesh Kumar was quoted by news agency PTI as saying on Tuesday evening. He said those appearing for NET will get sufficient time before its implementation.

"The UGC will revise National Eligibility Test (NET) syllabus, candidates will get sufficient time before implementation," Jagadesh Kumar said, adding that the UGC will form an expert panel for the exercise.

Why will UGC revise NET syllabus?

The UGC had last initiated the process to update the syllabi of UGC-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) subjects in 2017. "However, after launching the National Education Policy (NEP) in 2020, there have been considerable developments in higher education to impart multidisciplinary curricula and holistic education," Kumar was quoted by PTI as saying.

Therefore,  the commission, in its meeting earlier this month, “decided that an exercise to update the syllabi of the subjects of UGC-NET may be undertaken”, Kumar informed on Tuesday. "The UGC will form an expert committee and undertake this exercise,” he said.

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The UGC chairman added that candidates will be given sufficient time before this new syllabus is introduced in UGC-NET so that the changeover happens smoothly.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the UGC-NET for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF). The UGC-NET is held twice every year, usually in June and December, in 83 subjects.

It is an eligibility test for the appointment of assistant professors in the subjects of Humanities and Social Sciences, including Indian and some foreign languages, as well as in certain science subjects.

Meanwhile, the UGC is a statutory Organisation of the Government of India that is responsible for the coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of teaching, examination and research in university education. It came into existence in 1953.

(With inputs from PTI)