Thousands of candidates every year appear in the National Eligibility Test to have their shot at Junior Research Fellowship. Here are some important details what exactly is UGC NET JRF.
UGC NET JRF Exam
The University Grants Commission, more commonly referred to as the UGC conducts the National Eligibility Test (NET) twice every year – once in July and December/January each.
The NET, participated by thousands of candidates every year, is aimed to determine the eligibility of interested Indian nationals for the profiles of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and/or Assistant Professor (both in Indian colleges and universities).
UGC conducts NET in 79 different subjecting (Santali is the latest addition) at over 80 designated NET Coordinating Institutions spread throughout the country. The results are usually declared one month after the exam via official websites www.ugc.ac.in and https://cbsenet.nic.in/ The candidates are not individually notified about their result.
Those who successfully qualify for Junior Research Fellowship are eligible to
i.Pursue research in the subject of their post graduation or in any related subject
ii.Join an Indian college or university as an Assistant Professor.
IITs, universities and other national organizations may also choose the JRF recipients for full time research work as per their requirements.
Based on their performance, a candidate can be awarded JRF and the qualification to serve as an Assistant Professor, or just the latter. Simply put, anybody who exclusively qualify for the post of Assistant Professor, can not claim Junior Research Fellowship. Candidates appearing in the NET must first clarify whether they are applying for both or just for the eligibility of Assistant Professor.
Candidates belonging to the following groups may be awarded special concessions by the UGC:
Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/ Persons with disability (PWD)/Other Backward Classes (OBC) (Non-creamy layer), as per the central list of Other Backward Classes available on National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), Government of India website :www.ncbc.nic.in,
The validity of the Junior Research Fellowship is two years with effective from the date of the issue of the JRF Award Letter. However, for those who already joined PhD or M.Phil, the date of commencement of the fellowship program will be from the date on which NET results are declared or the day of their joining (whichever comes later).