The UGC-National Eligibility Test (NET) scheduled to be held from May 2 to 17 has been postponed in view of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ announced on Tuesday. According to an order by the National Testing Agency (NTA), the revised dates for the exam will be announced later, at least 15 days before the examination.
In a tweet, he wrote, ”Keeping in mind the safety & well-being of candidates during #covid19outbreak, Minister of Education, Govt. of India Shri @DrRPNishankhas advised @DG_NTA to postpone the UGC-NET Dec 2020 cycle (May 2021) exams.”
📢Announcement
Keeping in mind the safety & well-being of candidates during #covid19outbreak, Minister of Education, Govt. of India Shri @DrRPNishank has advised @DG_NTA to postpone the UGC-NET Dec 2020 cycle (May 2021) exams.
Read the official notice 👇 for more info!
pic.twitter.com/RAQFrSnmPO— Ministry of Education (@EduMinOfIndiaApril 20, 2021
“Looking at the present situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and also taking into account the safety and well being of the candidates and examination functionaries, it has been decided to postpone the UGC-NET exam,” the order by the NTA stated.
Lakhs of candidates have registered for the UGC NET 2021 May examinations. The examinations for December cycle had been postponed and is being conducted in May. The scheduled examination dates was from May 2, 2021. This, however, now stands postponed.
As per the notice, the new dates for the examination would be informed by NTA at least 15 days ahead of the exam. In other words, if the exam were to begin from June 1, then NTA would inform the dats by May 15 latest. UGC NET 2021 Admit Cads would also be released after the revised dates are notified.
Speculations were rife regarding the possibility of UGC NET 2021 May getting postponed as various major examinations in the country, including NEET PG 2021 and JEE Main April 2021, have been postponed already amid COVID 19 surge. Since the postponement of these examinations, many students had even urged the National Testing Agency to postpone the UGC NET 2021 May exam. The announcement would bring relief to lakhs of students.
UGC NET 2021 May exam will consist of two papers. Both these papers will carry objective type, multiple-choice questions. UGC NET 2021 exam is held twice every year by NTA to determine the eligibility of candidates for the assistant professorship or JRF posts. There is no change in the pattern of the examination.
All candidates who have applied for the examination are advised to keep a check on ugcnet.nta.nic.in and nta.ac.in for latest updates regarding the date for the examination. At present, with many states entering lockdowns, the examinations for various competitive and government jobs have been postponed.
