UGC gives relaxation to PhD holders registered before 2009

 In what could come as a breather for PhD holders registered before 2009, UGC has decided to give them certain relaxation, clearing a hurdle in applying for teaching jobs in universities.

At the full commission meeting on Monday, UGC decided to request the HRD Ministry to issue a notification in this regard after an examination of the matter. The relaxation would help thousand of PhD holders affected by the new UGC guideline in 2009, which had made NET and PhD a minimum eligibility criteria for applying for assistant professor in colleges and universities. The guideline had, however, laid down a set of procedures like course work, external assessment and entrance test to recognise a PhD.

PhD aspirants registered before 2009 went on a warpath and protested the move, seeking reprieve from the government. A commission member, however, contended that a decision for the relaxation was made much earlier but lack of any communication from the Ministry had created confusions. The meeting also decided to derecognise a Sikkim-based private university for alleged irregularities in opening campus abroad and offering sub-standard degrees, a public notice of which would be issued shortly.

The decision came after numerous complaints were received against the fraudulent practices of the university. "A public notice would soon be issued about the UGC decision," the member said. UGC also cleared the establishment of a Buddhist studies (a deemed to be university) in Ladakh and cleared the appointment of D P Singh, a RSS ideologue, as the new NAAC director.