Villupuram Member of Parliament D. Ravikumar has urged the Tamil Nadu Government to prevail upon the Centre and withdraw the decision of the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) latest decision to make the National Eligibility Test (NET) scores the criteria for admission to Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) across the country, instead of entrance tests at the university level.
In a letter addressed to Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudy, Mr. Ravikumar said the decision of the UGC on NET scores for PhD admissions infringed on the rights of the States and the autonomy of universities to facilitate research. The quality of research will also be diminished if this decision is implemented. The Tamil Nadu Government should not implement the UGC directive and prevail upon the Centre to withdraw the decision, he said.
According to him, the UGC had constituted a committee in 2019 for “Promoting and Improving the Quality of Research in Indian Universities/Colleges”. Though the committee had submitted its report in two parts in July 2019, the UGC showed no interest in implementing the recommendations. On the contrary, the present decision of UGC to consider NET scores for admission to PhD is aimed at further weakening the quality of research in the country.
“This will only lead to proliferation of private coaching centres cashing in on the UGC’s decision. The removal of university level entrance tests for PhD, will negatively affect the autonomy of institutions as well as the opportunity of students to attain PhD,” Mr. Ravikumar said.
According to the All-India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE), the total PhD enrolment in the country during 2021-22 is 2,12,568 students. Of them 28,867 were from Tamil Nadu constituting 13.58 % of the total students. The UGC’s move will also adversely affect the number of PhD admissions from OBC, SC and ST communities in the State, he said.
Hence, the Tamil Nadu government should prevail upon the Centre and immediately withdraw the notification of UGC, he said.
