NEW DELHI: The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has announced that it will accept the scores of the National Eligibility Test (NET) instead of its own entrance test for admission to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programmes from the current academic session (2024-25).
In an official statement, the university said, “The University Grants Commission, to help the students with one national entrance test as part of the implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, has decided vide its Public Notice dated March 27, 2024, that score of National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by the UGC and the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) can be used by the universities/HEIs for Ph.D Admission in place of entrance test.”
It has decided to use the NET scores for the admissions in doctoral courses, replacing the separate entrance test previously conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
“Accordingly, JNU has decided to use NET score in place of the entrance test conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to Ph.D Programmes in the university from the academic session 2024-25,” the university said.
JNU also further clarified that the applications for the admission to Ph.D. programmes of the following three categories of candidates will be accepted: Category 1: JRF-qualified candidates (100% weightage); Category 2: Candidates qualified for Assistant Professorship without JRF; Category 3: Candidates neither qualified for JRF nor Assistant Professorship but are eligible for admission to Ph.D only on the basis of NET score.
However, candidates with valid JRF will also be eligible to apply under the NET Score categories. Admission under NET will replace the entrance examination. The weightage for NET score and viva-voce will be 70% and 30%, respectively, the JUN Ph.D notice read.