UGC NET JRF validity extended for one more year for covid-affected candidates

NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to extend the validity of the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) award letter upto one year, from the earlier period of three years to four years from the date of issue of JRF Award Letter. The decision has been taken for all those National Eligibility Test (NET) qualified candidates whose admission process was affected due to COVID-19 pandemic.

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The UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar announced it on social media and said that a notification will be released soon.

UGC has decided to extend the validity period of the JRF award letter up to one year (beyond the three year period) for all those UGC NET qualified candidates whose admission process was affected due to COVID 19 pandemic situation. The notification is being issued. pic.twitter.com/BWj90kGklO

— Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar (@mamidala90) March 28, 2022

The UGC NET December 2020, June 2022 sessions were conducted combinedly due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation.

Meanwhile, the Commission has proposed amendments to the existing guidelines for PhD programmes in new draft regulations. The draft UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2022 proposes that 60 percent of the total seats for PhDs be filled by National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) or Junior Research Fellowship (JRF)-qualified students. The remaining 40 percent will be filled through the entrance test conducted by universities.

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The proposed structure also extends the relaxation of 5 percent marks, which currently covers Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Other Backward Castes. “Qualifying marks in the entrance test will be 50 percent, provided that a relaxation of 5 percent of marks (from 50 percent to 45 percent) shall be allowed for candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC (Non-creamy layers)/Differently-abled category in the entrance examination conducted by the universities,” the document states.

UGC has invited suggestions from stakeholders on draft PhD regulations 2022 by March 31.