PU to admit NET, JRF, SLET and GATE qualified candidates for MPhil, PhD

Entrance examinations for MPhil and PhD admissions were scrapped this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic

With the scrapping of the entrance examination for MPhil and PhD admissions this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Panjab University (PU) will only enrol those candidates who have cleared the UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) including the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) and the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).

As no entrance exam was conducted this year, the recommendation for PhD enrolments was made by the committee of MPhil and PhD guidelines constituted by Panjab University vice-chancellor Raj Kumar. (HT Photo)

Besides this, candidates qualifying other recognised tests for national level scholarship or fellowship conducted at all India level on behalf of national institutions will also be considered. As no entrance exam was conducted this year, the recommendation for PhD enrolments was made by the committee of MPhil and PhD guidelines constituted by PU vice-chancellor Raj Kumar.

This information was recently communicated by the dean university instructions (DUI) RK Singla to the deans of faculties and heads of teaching departments after the V-C’s approval.

Besides this, candidates whose PU-PhD scores are valid will also be admitted for PhD.

According to a university official, PU has received over 3,000 applications for PhD admissions this year as against 1,800 applications in 2019.

PU has also scrapped the PU-CET (PG) and PU-CET (PG) entrance exams and admitted students on merit.

Interestingly, according to University Grants Commission (UGC) recommendations, institutes have to conduct the entrance exam to admit students for the MPhil and PhD programme.

UGC’s minimum standards and procedure for award of MPhil and PhD degrees require universities and deemed to be universities to admit MPhil/PhD students through an entrance test conducted at the level of an individual university or an institution deemed to be a university.

Parveen Goyal, a member of PU’s PhD guidelines committee, said, “I had suggested that the university should conduct the entrance test in phased manner. Conducting the entrance test would have benefited both teachers and students.”