Social Inequality, Loss of Academic Autonomy and Many Ills of Common PhD Entrance Test

Vikas Gupta | 15 June 2024 | The Wire

The University Grants Commission (UGC) and National Testing Agency (NTA) have launched a newer mechanism of common test for PhD admissions through their notification dated March 27. Now, the PhD admissions have been clubbed with NET (National Eligibility Test) for appointment as university/college faculty and with various kinds of national fellowships, such as JRF (Junior Research Fellowship), NFSC (National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste), NFOBC (National Fellowship for Other Backward Classes), and NFPWD (National Fellowship for Persons with Disabilities).

Many central universities like Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Banaras Hindu University have endorsed this newer arrangement withdrawing their own tests and bypassing their own statutory bodies like the Academic Council. While there are some specific contingent problems of the newer common test for PhD admissions, there are many fundamental issues with all such common entrance tests…
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