Delhi University (DU) has no plans to hold separate PhD entrance exams like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh said on Sunday.

The DU vice-chancellor added that the university is awaiting guidance from the University Grants Commission (UGC). The uncertainty surrounding PhD admissions arose after the Centre cancelled the UGC NET exam, which was crucial for entry into PhD programs. The UGC NET exam, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), determines eligibility for teaching positions and PhD admissions.

“We have no plans to hold a separate in-house PhD entrance exam. We will follow whatever UGC suggests. We have not received any communication from the NTA and are awaiting their guidance. We expect the academic session for PhD to be delayed by a month,” he told ANI.

Singh’s comments were in response to queries about whether DU planned to conduct its own entrance test following the controversy surrounding the NTA’s UGC NET exam.

On June 19, the Centre cancelled the exam after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) raised concerns about the integrity of the examination. Meanwhile, JNU is considering abandoning the UGC NET exam for PhD admissions and reverting to an in-house entrance test. This year, JNU announced it would accept the National Eligibility Test (NET) scores instead of conducting its own entrance test, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The UGC, in a notification dated March 27, 2024, decided that from the academic session 2024-25, the NET score could be used for PhD admissions in place of entrance tests conducted by various universities and higher education institutions (HEIs).

The UGC NET, conducted by the NTA in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode since December 2018, determines eligibility for Assistant Professorship and Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) in Indian universities and colleges. The award of JRF or eligibility for Assistant Professorship depends on the aggregate performance in Paper-I and Paper-II of the UGC NET.