‘Insensitivity’: Kanimozhi demands rescheduling of UGC-NET exam due to Pongal
DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi accused the central government of showing complete insensitivity towards the sentiments of Tamil Nadu
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Sunday urged the Centre to reschedule the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) exam of various subjects scheduled on January 15 and 16 as they coincide with the Pongal festival in Tamil Nadu and accused the government of showing “complete insensitivity towards the sentiments” of the state.
In a letter to Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the Thoothukkudi MP said, “It (Pongal) is deeply connected with the cultural identity of Tamils and conducting UGC-NET exams on that day would affect both the Pongal celebrations and exam preparations of the students from Tamil Nadu.”
Sharing a copy of the letter on X, she said, “Pongal is not just a festival; it is a celebration of Tamil pride and identity. This is not mere negligence — it is a deliberate affront to our cultural heritage. Once again, the Union Government has exposed its blatant disregard for our state and its people .”
“This lack of consideration is becoming a pattern, as we recently had to fight for a date change when the Chartered Accountant (CA) exams were also scheduled on Pongal,” she added.
On November 26, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) rescheduled one of the CA Foundation exams from January 14, 2025, to January 16.
UGC and education ministry officials did not respond to HT but a person familiar with the matter in the education ministry said, “a decision regarding the rescheduling of UGC-NET exam of January 15 and 16 will be taken in a day or two, if taken at all.”
UGC-NET is a national-level exam in India conducted twice a year by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on behalf of UGC for award of Junior Research Fellowship, (JRF) appointment as assistant professor and admission to PhD courses.
The demand for change in the exam schedule from Kanimozhi came three days after NTA issued the UGC-NET exam December 2024 schedule, according to which the exam will be held in two shifts for 85 subjects in Compter Based Test (CBT) mode between January 3 and January 16, 2025. The examinations in the first shift will be conducted from 9am to 12pm and the second shift will be held from 3pm to 6pm.
The exams for 30 subjects have been scheduled on January 15 and 16, which are Pongal days, the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu, celebrated by Tamils all over the world.
The examinations of 17 subjects including mass communication and journalism, law, electronic science, and environmental sciences are scheduled to be held in two shifts on January 15. The exams of 13 subjects, including Sociology, German, Hindu studies are scheduled for January 16, which is also a public holiday observed as Thiruvalluvar Day in Tamil Nadu.
Earlier on Friday, DMK’s student wing secretary CVMP Ezhilarasan in a statement jad urged the NTA to reschedule the exams, warning that the student wing would organise statewide protests if the exam schedule were not revised.
“Either they are extremely naive to not able to know a simple fact that this examination clashes with Pongal, the most important festival in Tamil Nadu or they know the fact and purposely doing it because of their disdain for diffrent cultures in the country. These are the only two possibilities. They do not want to respect Southern states cultures,” said DMK spokesperson Salem Dharanidharan.
Su Venkatesan, CPI (M) MP from Tamil Nadu’s Madurai met Pradhan and urged him to change UGC-NET exam dates.
“We are not given any information regarding it and hence we would not be able to give you any information regarding the same,” said official handling NTA’s helpline for UGC-NET exam.
Earlier, the education ministry on June 2021 cancelled UGC-NET June 2024 Examination after allegations of paper leak. The exams for the June cycle were later conducted from August 21, 2024, to September 4, 2024.
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