TISS defers admissions to Mphil after NEP calls for its discontinuation

ADMISSIONS TO MPHIL COURSES HAD KICKED OFF. INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED FROM JUNE 22 TO JULY 17

MUMBAI: With no clarity on the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), the admissions to the Master of Philosophy (Mphil) course at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) for their 2020-21 batch have been stalled for now.

In a short clarification on their website, the TISS administration has stated that “in light of the recent changes proposed in the National Education Policy (NEP) concerning the Mphil program, admissions for 2020 batch are deferred until further notice.” As per NEP 2020, Mphil courses are to be discontinued, and students are now worried about its immediate implementation. Admissions to Mphil courses had already kicked off and personal interview (PI) rounds were conducted between June 22 and July 17. However, the final list of candidates has not been revealed as yet.

In June this year, with several parts of the country in lockdown due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, TISS administration had started conducting online interviews of candidates interested in Mphil or PHD courses for the new academic year. “Most of us have applied to other institutes as well, but TISS would be our first preference. We’ve been waiting to hear about admission confirmation for weeks now,” said one of the applicants.

NEP 2020 was approved by the Union cabinet in the last week of July, but the implementation of the policy remains unclear to states as well as institutes. “When the government itself has not clarified how and when the new policy needs to be implemented, why is the TISS administration jumping the wagon and deferring admissions? ” said another candidate. A senior official from TISS refused to divulge details on this matter but reiterated that Mphil admissions have only been deferred for the time being.