Hon’ble Sir,

We are common citizens of India  place the following before your consideration, seeking appropriate orders ensuring strict compliance of UGC regulations in appointments. In most of the selections NET qualified candidates are denied by the selection committee, and the candidates who are not qualified per UGC regulations are selected. If the said candidates and fully qualified candidates are considered in equal measure, it will be an injustice to the fully qualified candidates and the academic community. It is an important matter of national public interest, therefore all the people (whether they are NET qualified or not) need to rise their hands towards this issue and to join this petition.

It is in pursuance to the Mungekar Committee recommendation that NET should be made a compulsory requirement for appointment of Lecturer in addition to the candidate possessing M.Phil. or Ph.D. degrees. The Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India, issued a direction to UGC under section 22 of the UGC Act to frame appropriate regulation for serving the national purpose of maintaining standards of higher education, prescribing NET/SLET to be compulsory for all persons in teaching positions of Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Higher Education.

Considering as a matter of policy that the appointment of Lecturers/Assistant Professors in all institutions governed by the UGC Act the need was felt to have in addition a national entrance test as a minimum eligibility condition being an additional qualification which has become necessary in view of wide disparities in the granting of M.Phil./Ph.D. degrees by various Universities/Institutions. The object sought to be achieved by these directions is clear: that all Lecturers in Universities/Colleges/Institutions governed by the UGC Act should have a certain minimum standard of excellence before they are appointed as such.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development issued the aforesaid directions to serve a national purpose in as it felt that a common uniform nationwide test should be a minimum eligibility condition for recruitment for the appointment of Lecturer/Assistant Professors in Universities/Colleges/Institutions. This is for the obvious reason that M. Phil. degrees or Ph.D. degrees are granted by different Universities/Institutions having differing standards of excellence. It is also after considering instances of M.Phil./Ph.D. degrees being granted by several Universities which did not have stringent standards of excellence. In fact, such degrees were available for a prize in the market.

Accordingly UGC promulgated the Regulations of 2009, making clear that “NET/SLET shall remain the minimum eligibility condition for recruitment and appointment of Lecturers in Universities/Colleges/Institutions. Provided, however, that candidates, who are or have been  awarded Ph.D. Degree in compliance of the “University Grants Commission (minimum standards and procedure for award of Ph.D. Degree), Regulation 2009, shall be exempted from the requirement of the minimum eligibility condition of NET/SLET for recruitment and appointment of Assistant Professor or equivalent position in Universities/Colleges/Institutions.”

Now there is a Gazette notification dated 10 May 2016 by UGC, relaxed this qualification to accommodate candidates who have been awarded Ph.D. without undergoing the regular procedure laid down by the UGC. This is now proposed allegedly to fill up the vacancies, for want of qualified hands. Whether lowering the minimum qualification is to fill up the vacancies or to benefit certain vested interests is the question, we are more concerned with.

The ground reality is that most of the students, even after earning M.Phil. or PhD, have failed to clear the NET and hence there is a concerted move to get an exemption. After 2009 regulation come in force, everyone get 14 more chances to qualify the NET, (say Dec 2009, June 2010, Dec 2010, June 2011, Dec 2011, June 2012, Dec 2012, June 2013, Dec 2013, June 2014, Dec 2014, June 2015, Dec 2015, June 2016) and not qualified the test. The test aims at finding out whether the incumbent has knowledge of the subject or not. If M.Phil. or PhD students think they have knowledge of the subject, why then they not  pass  NET. The dilution in the regulation will defeat the very purpose of the object behind the framing of the regulation.

India is an emerging state internationally and any such move that dilutes the educational standards and uniformity in the selection system will decelerate the nation’s move on the development path. Instead of thinking of changing the selection procedure, the UGC should constitute a committee to study the reasons why students who have done M.Phil. and doctorates fail to clear NET, which is currently mandatory for appointment.

In fact, when UGC tried to relax the regulation through a resolution in the 471th and the 472th meeting of the UGC held on 12.8.2010 & 27.9.2010, the central government did not agree and the Supreme Court upheld the stand of the Government.

NET was introduced primarily because UGC could not ensure the standards for post graduate programs in various universities/institutions. If pre-2009 Ph.D. holders are not able to clear an eligibility test asking questions from the master degree syllabus that means they are not able to answer master degree questions. In such a situation how can they be made lecturers in Universities? 

The proposal now made is genuinely to tide over a situation of lack of qualified NET holders; the situation can be addressed by appointing such candidates on temporary basis who should be replaced by qualified hands inviting application as per the rules of appointments. Once any such relaxation is given without such a rider, it will result in overlooking the claim of NET hands and will lead to nepotism and corruption at the cost of the educational standard.

There are many appointments violating the Regulation. Candidates who have neither qualified NET, nor having PhD as per the UGC Regulations are appointed ignoring the claim of NET qualified hands. Such appointments are now sought to be regularised by raising the bogy of non-availability of qualified hands. UGCin facts is not scrutinizing the appointments made after the Regulations have been brought into force. This is a clear breach of its statutory obligation.

We humbly request you to cancel the new regulations named as UGC regulations 2016 which made amendments to the principal UGC regulations 2010.

Sir, please look into the matter seriously, lest that will affect the career prospects of many NET qualified hands. Considering the facts, we request you to hold back the latest amendments named as UGC regulation 2016, of minimum qualification for the appointments of Assistant Professors.

Thanking You,

Yours faithfully,
(Sd/-)

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