UGC announces PhD degree to be optional for appointment as an Assistant Professors
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced that the PhD not be mandatory for the appointment as an Assistant Professor from July 1, 2023. However PhD will still be needed for promotion to associate professor level. The National Eligibility Test (NET), State Eligibility Test (SET) and State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) will continue to remain the minimum eligibility criteria for the direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Professor.
UGC Chairman Prof M Jagadesh Kumar said that the move will provide relief to aspiring candidates who wish to join academics. “If they clear NET/SET/SLET, they will become eligible to apply for the post of Assistant Professor in all higher education institutions (HEIs).
According to a notification released on June 30 and released in public domain on Wednesday June 5, 2023, the commission has amended the UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and other Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2018, and deleted the PhD requirement clause.
This has been substituted with another clause stating, that “NET/SET/SLET shall be the minimum criteria for the direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Professor for all Higher Education Institutions.”
In 2018, the commission set the PhD criteria for recruitment for entry-level posts at universities and colleges. All universities were asked to begin using the PhD criterion for hiring beginning in July 2021 at the time. Faculty from many universities criticised the decision, claiming that the Covid-19 pandemic prevented many candidates from finishing their PhDs. They urged the national government to ease the eligibility requirements. In October 2021, the commission announced that it was deferring implementation of the criterion for an additional two years, or until July 2023. But it is now completely abandoned.
Meanwhile, the final results of the UGC-NET exams are expected to be released in the second week of August. The test determines the eligibility of aspirants for ‘Assistant Professor’ and ‘Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professor’ in Indian universities and colleges.