CBSE Expresses Inability to Conduct UGC NET Twice a Year
- Due to the poor response and low student turnout for the UGC NET exam, CBSE is not in favour of conducting the exam twice a year.
- HRD Ministry will take a final decision on CBSE's plea soon.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has made it clear to the HRD Ministry that it would be able to conduct the National Eligibility Test (NET) only once in a year. However, the HRD Ministry is yet to take a decision on CBSE’s plea. If accepted, candidates aspiring to take up college teaching jobs could only appear for the qualifying exam once in a year.
Until last year, the UGC NET examination was held twice a year in the months of July and December in order to screen candidates for lectureship or JRF (Junior Research Fellow). Contrary to that, in 2017, the NET exam notification was issued only once. Even though it is not the responsibility of CBSE to conduct NET exam, the board has been carrying out the same for the past few years. CBSE informed the UGC and HRD Ministry that it could not concentrate on its core objectives if it continues to conduct exam for other bodies. Furthermore, as the HRD Ministry has reintroduced Class 10 exams, CBSE will be preoccupied with that too.
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Even though CBSE expressed its inability to conduct NET earlier, the UGC (University Grants Commission) urged the board to conduct NET until the formation of NTS (National Testing Service).
On the other hand, CBSE has also conveyed to the HRD Ministry that a lot of time, resources and energy are being wasted for conducting NET twice a year especially when the student turnout for the exam is less. According to the observation made by the CBSE, out of the 6.5 lakh candidates who register for the NET exam, only about 1.5 lakh candidates appear for it. The pass percentage also stands at about 3.9%.