PhD not mandatory for recruitment of assistant professors this year: Union Education Minister

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, "The ministry has put a temporary hold on PhD for assistant professor recruitment and PhD would not be mandatory for this post as of now but has not been cancelled."

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New Delhi: The Centre has decided not to go ahead with the plan to make PhD the minimum qualification to hire assistant professors this year in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, ANI reported. 

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told the media, "The ministry has put a temporary hold on PhD for assistant professor recruitment and PhD would not be mandatory for this post as of now but has not been cancelled."

The Ministry of Education has lifted the compulsory PhD criteria temporarily to allow universities to fill the vacancies. Education Ministry sources told the news agency, "Around 10,000 posts vacant in the Central universities including teaching and non-teaching staff and the ministry had given instruction to fill up this vacancy soon.” 

"Education Ministry had received several requests from candidates who wanted to apply for the post but were unable to fulfil their PhD requirement, asking to postpone the 2018 guidelines," the sources added. 

Candidates possessing postgraduate degrees, who have cleared the National Eligibility Test, will continue to remain eligible for recruitments to the assistant professor posts.

In 2018, the University Grants Commission (UGC) modified the criteria for recruitments for entry-level posts at universities and colleges. It had given a three-year window to candidates to complete their PhDs and asked all universities and colleges to start applying the criteria for recruitment from the 2021-22 academic session. Former Union Minister Prakash Javadekar announcing the new regulations had said, “The new recruitment for universities will be only PhD holders. We have given time of three years. So from 2021, assistant professor (entry-level position) will have to hold PhDs.” 

(With agency inputs)