UGC-NET exam postponed yet again amid COVID surge across India

The UGC-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) December 2020 cycle exam, due from May 2-17, has been postponed following a surge in COVID cases, the National Testing Agency announced on Tuesday (April 20).

The CBSE has recently announced it was postponing Class XII exams even as it cancelled Class X exams. This was followed by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination postponing the ICSE (class X), ISC (Class XII) exams.

The revised dates for UGC-NET exam will be announced later, at least 15 days before the examination, NTA said.

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“Keeping in mind the safety & well-being of candidates and exam functionaries during COVID-19, I have advised the NTA director general to postpone the UGC-NET Dec 2020 cycle (May 2021) exams,” tweeted Union Education Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

The UGC-NET is conducted twice in a year. However last year due to the pandemic, the June 2020 examination got delayed and was put off to September 2020 until November 2020 to cover all subjects. The December 2020 cycle had to be postponed till March-April 2021 then again till May and has been postponed yet again.

The NET was conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in 84 subjects at 91 cities till 2018 across the country for the University Grants Commission. But from December 2018, the UGC-NET is being conducted by NTA. Over a million students take UGC NET entrance exams.

UGC-NET 2021 is a computer-based exam for those aspiring to get a job as an assistant professor and junior research fellowship.

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Besides JRF and assistant professorship positions, UGC NET is also used to determine the ‘National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste Students (NFSC), National Fellowship for Other Backward Classes (NFOBC) and Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students (MANF)’, run by the Ministry of Social Justice and the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

National Testing Agency (NTA) has been established as a premier, specialist, autonomous and self-sustained testing organization to conduct entrance examinations for admission/fellowship in higher educational institutions.