The UGC NET exams scheduled to begin from May 2 have been postponed in view of the surge in coronavirus cases across the country, Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said on Tuesday.
The new dates of the exams will be announced later.
The University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) to determine the eligibility for ‘Assistant Professor’ and ‘Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professor’ in Indian universities and colleges. The December 2020 Cycle of the exams were scheduled to be held from May 2 to May 17.
“Keeping in mind the safety and well-being of candidates and exam functionaries during the COVID-19 outbreak, I have advised NTA to postpone the UGC-NET Dec 2020 cycle (May 2021) exams,” Pokhriyal tweeted.
The NTA has also confirmed the postponement of the exams.
“Looking at the present situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and also taking into account the safety and well-being of the candidates and the examination functionaries, it has been decided to postpone the UGC NET December 2020 cycle (May 2021) exams," the agency said.
UGC-NET is conducted twice every year. However in 2020 due to the pandemic, the June 2020 examination got delayed and the December 2020 cycle had to be postponed to May 2021.
