NIT Jalandhar: 2020 batch in limbo, application reopens for PhD

NEW DELHI: National Institute of Technology (NIT) Jalandhar has begun the admission process for full-time and part-time PhD programmes with external fellowships. The March notification inviting applications has surprised research students who had taken admission in September 2020 and for whom classes haven’t begun.

Problems have plagued NIT Jalandhar’s 2020 round of PhD admissions for months. Its July admissions cycle delayed by COVID-19, the NIT selected 89 candidates for provisional admission to PhD in September 2020. However, it required those who were joining with the institute’s own fellowships to sign an undertaking that they will fund their own studies. 36 students paid their fees for admission from their own resources. A second notice followed a few weeks later saying their classes will begin in the second semester of the 2020-21 academic year, that is over January-June, 2021, and that they need not sign the undertaking. A third notice followed in December in which NIT Jalandhar told them that classes cannot be held and that they should seek admission elsewhere.

Although the institute asked them to move, it did not officially cancel their admission or announce that the 2020 admissions had been nullified. In the confusion, the researchers stayed on even though classes did not begin. Now that the NIT is taking on a fresh batch, the 2020 batch is concerned about its future and also wondering why they cannot be accommodated. Some of them allege that when they inquired about this, they were “verbally” informed that they must withdraw and seek admission elsewhere, seven months after they were selected.

A detailed questionnaire was sent to NIT Jalandhar’s dean academics on the issue. If he responds, this story will be updated with his comments. Another official responsible for postgraduate programmes told Careers360 that admission fees taken from these research scholars will be refunded.

NIT Jalandhar institutional fellowship

Earlier, the same batch of students was also asked to sign an undertaking that says the institutional fellowship will not be provided to these students. All National Institutes of Technology are centrally-run and designated Institutes of National Importance.

“We were asked to sign an undertaking which says that the institute will not be able to provide the institutional fellowship which will be applicable as long as the ministry of human resource development (MHRD, now ministry of education) does not release funds,” said a student on condition of anonymity, who had signed the undertaking as he thought it was a genuine reason during the pandemic.

According to students, for the September 2020 session, there were 109 PhD seats in all, 89 candidates were selected of whom 36 paid the admission fees. Now, in March 2021, they called for fresh applications for PhD.

Demanding clarity

Students of the September batch had called up the institution to seek clarity regarding their classes and the call for fresh application. “We asked them why they advertised for fresh applications when classes have not resumed for the previous batch. They told us verbally that they are cancelling our batch since they don't have funds. They are saying this after eight months,” said another student.

The Joint Research Council of India, an association of research scholars in technology institutions such as the NITs and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), has written to the education minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ to instruct the NIT Jalandhar administration to approve the admission of over 60PhD full-time candidates who joined the July 2020 session in September, a delayed admission due to the pandemic. The students were admitted with the institute fellowship.

The students say they are now on the verge of losing the research opportunities they won during the pandemic period.

“COVID-19 was an unwarranted calamity and did strike hard on enterprises and individuals but the students have been the biggest sufferers. It is shameful for an academic institution to step back from its duties when it is an obligation to admit past students”, said Vikrant Singh, who heads the group.

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