Poor response, conduct NET once a year: CBSE

At present, test is held twice a year

Owing to the poor response received by the aspiring candidates of National Eligibility Test (NET), the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) has proposed to conduct the said qualifying exam — for recruitment of college and university teachers — once a year. Last year, the board had conveyed its inability to conduct NET with its hands being full. However, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed it to continue the practice for now.

According to sources, the proposal, which is at a very nascent stage, is being considered keeping in mind the resources required to conduct the exam as well as the number of candidates appearing for it. “While conducting the exam once a year will make candidates more serious about it, resources can also be utilised judiciously as holding a national-level exam is a massive exercise. “The CBSE has proposed the idea keeping in mind that only 17 per cent of the registered candidates take the exam and only 4 per cent of them clear it,” the source said. At present NET is held twice a year, in July and December, for the grant of junior research fellowship. Also, it is a qualifying exam for recruitment of assistant professors in universities and colleges.

Last year, the CBSE had approached the ministry of human resource development expressing its inability to conduct the exam due to capacity crunch as it was overburdened with other tests such as the JEE-Main and NEET for undergraduate engineering and medical courses respectively.