West Bengal making NET, GATE, CEED exams must for PhD admissions throws its universities into confusion

The West Bengal government’s decision to make national eligibility tests, such as UGC NET, CSIR NET, GATE and CEED, the only route to PhD admission in the state’s universities has drawn criticism from academics across disciplines and institutions.

Those from specialised, interdisciplinary and technology fields say the policy will hurt them as they do not have corresponding national eligibility examinations. Filling seats in some categories and disciplines will become a challenge, West Bengal’s own eligibility test now faces an uncertain future and there is very little trust in the exam body for the NET exams, the National Testing Agency (NTA).

In an order issued on August 3, 2026 , the Higher Education Department directed state-aided universities, private universities and aided institutions to admit PhD scholars in accordance with the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) PhD regulations framed in 2022.

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This implies that PhD admissions in West Bengal institutions will now involve a national-level exam followed by an interview. The exams include the UGC National Eligibility Test (UGC NET); Council of Scientific and Industrial Research National Eligibility Test (CSIR NET), Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) and the Common Entrance Examination for Design (CEED).

The order tells state universities “not to advertise nor conduct Ph.D admission test (PAT) / research entrance test (RET) etc. for the upcoming academic session” and to “mandatorily adopt” national-level test scores “as the basis for admission to Ph.D programmes in place of entrance examinations conducted at the university level”,

The order comes amid the inordinate delay in the UGC NET 2026 answer key and result and growing disquiet about the quality of the NET exam . The exam body for the UGC NET, the National Testing Agency , is under fire for paper-leak and mismanagement of the medical entrance test, NEET.

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NTA UGC NET: ‘Infringing autonomy,’ say JU teachers

However, the Jadavpur University Teachers Association – the faculty body at one of Bengal’s top state universities – said the directive overlooks several practical issues.

In a statement, the association points out that the NET and GATE do not test aptitude for several emerging and professional disciplines, including optometry

Then, the West Bengal government order is silent on candidates clearing the State Eligibility Test (SET). And finally, uncertainty over the mechanism for filling reserved seats if there aren’t enough UGC and CSIR NET or GATE-qualified candidates.

In a statement, the JUTA said universities generally follow UGC guidelines for selecting research scholars, but imposing the notification "without considering the overall situation amounts to an infringement on their autonomy."

The association also asked how institutions like Jadavpur University would amend their PhD regulations when statutory bodies like the executive council, which approve such changes, are not functioning, and whether PhD admissions for the current academic session will remain stalled. Jadavpur University will write to the department of higher education seeking clarity.

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PhD admission for professional courses

Those pursuing postgraduate degrees in disciplines for which there is no NET exam – usually professional programmes – worry their path to a PhD has just got more circuitous. Now, they will have to first obtain a masters degree in a subject recognised for UGC NET eligibility, before thinking of a doctoral programme. This will create problems for students in highly-specialised, professional fields and might deter candidates from joining.

A student in an allied health sciences programme at a state university, who did not wish to be named, echoed some of these concerns.

"My subject is Medical Laboratory Technology, which does not have NET examination. Students are forced to qualify for the NET in another subject. They may also have to pursue their PhD in a different discipline, such as medical microbiology, life sciences, or preventive and social medicine. Subjects such as these should be evaluated before implementing such a policy," said a PhD scholar and an assistant professor at a West Bengal state university. His master’s degree is in MLT and he’s pursuing a PhD in medical microbiology. He was selected through a university-level exam and interview.

The problem extends to highly-specialised fields, as Rajib Chakarborty, professor in the department of applied optics and photonics , Calcutta University, explained. “I teach optics and optometry for which there is no NET exam. Our students who want to do PhD will face problems,” he said. “I am hoping that for the technology department, they might think about it again. There are many subjects of the technology department where the NET exam is not possible. In that case, how will such students do PhD? Students from interdisciplinary programmes are also pursuing research. How will they pursue a PhD under these norms? The university and the government need to work on these issues.”

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Neither NET exam nor GATE

Partha Partim Roy, professor of physics and general secretary of the teachers’ association at Jadavpur University, pointed out that the higher education department order implies that the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), conducted by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), will be the entry point for engineering PhD programmes.

“That still leaves a major gap because several engineering specialisations do not have a GATE examination either. Subjects such as power engineering, construction engineering, printing engineering and food technology, among others, do not have a GATE exam. Then there are interdisciplinary programmes, which have neither a NET nor a GATE. What happens to students from these disciplines?” asked Roy. “ The UGC's 2022 regulations had addressed this issue by allowing higher education institutions to conduct their own entrance examinations, assess the candidate's research background and make admissions accordingly. The recent order effectively takes away that flexibility. If there is neither a NET nor a GATE for these disciplines, and universities are no longer allowed to conduct their own entrance tests, how are students from these subjects expected to pursue PhD programmes?"

However, Tapas Chakraborty, vice-chancellor, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT), supported the government's move, saying it is in line with the UGC regulations that universities have been expected to follow for several years. "We have been saying this for the past three-four years, ever since the UGC regulations were first notified . We strictly adhere to them. Research entrance tests cannot be conducted arbitrarily. National-level examinations such as NET or GATE are the prescribed route. While many universities continue to conduct their own entrance examinations, that is not in keeping with the UGC regulations. All universities should abide by the regulations, and the state government is trying to streamline the system," Chakraborty said.

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Siddhartha Biswas, professor of English at Calcutta University, also had no objections to the change. “We will follow whatever is there in the order. For English we do not have any problem,” he said.

The WB SET question; Jadavpur University letter

Another puzzling aspect of the order is its silence on the West Bengal State Eligibility Test (WB SET), organised for much the same purposes, by the West Bengal College Service Commission (WBCSC).

Tapas Chakraborty said they can continue to pursue PhD programmes in state universities. Other professors are less certain. Mahalaya Chatterjee, professor of economics at Calcutta University, said, “Things are not very clear at the moment.”

“The history of the SLET is closely linked to that of the NET,” said Chatterjee. “When the NET was made compulsory in the 1990s, it was decided that the State Eligibility Test (SET or SLET) would be conducted for regional subjects where a national-level NET examination was not feasible.…The UGC had made it very clear that such examinations must be conducted under strict supervision and invigilation. That is how the system has functioned successfully for nearly 30 years. Whatever the West Bengal government proposes now should be viewed in the context of the original purpose of introducing the SLET. Any changes should not compromise the credibility, transparency and integrity that these examinations have maintained over the years."

At Jadavpur University, teachers and administrators met on August 6 to discuss the SET. “Jadavpur University will be writing to the higher education department about the 2022 notification by the UGC, and if it should be followed, what happens to the subjects which do not have NET and what happens if there are not enough UGC NET-qualified candidates to fill all seats. We will also seek a proper clarification on SLET. The letter will go today,” said Roy.

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‘Can’t trust NTA’; UGC NET quality

Finally, there are concerns about the NTA and standards of the exams it conducts.

Both the UGC-NET and CSIR-NET are conducted by the central body that sacked 47 members of staff last month in an effort to clean up after botching the NEET and facing massive, nationwide student protests over it.

"We cannot trust the NTA,” said Mahalaya Chatterjee. “They are known for leaking the questions. It is a registered society which depends on temporary workers. As recently as June, the sociology paper had this issue."

At Jadavpur, Roy echoed her concerns. "NTA is problematic, it is not only NEET, even NET question papers, were leaked."

Then, the UGC and CSIR NET question papers carry only objective-type, multiple-choice questions (MCQ) and there’s been strong criticism of the questions across social media.

“The type of questions that are asked in NET, it is difficult to judge if a student will be good in research,” said Roy.

The existing WB SET paper pattern includes both MCQ as well as descriptive or subjective-type questions. The MCQ component carries 33% of the marks.