PhD is not mandatory to work in colleges, says UGC

University Grants Commission (UGC) chairperson Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar said that PhD is not mandatory for recruitment to the posts of Assistant Professors in central universities and colleges. Speaking at the Osmania University (OU), Hyderabad, Jagadesh Kumar added that a qualification in the Commission's National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) would be sufficient for it, said news reports from Telangana. The decision is being taken so that professionals who do not have PhDs can be appointed as assistant professors across universities and colleges in India. Additionally, the move also aims to provide opportunities to experts who want to teach in universities, but can't as they do not have a PhD degree. The Union government had earlier amended the Commission's regulations that made PhD the minimum eligibility criteria for hiring assistant professors. The new guidelines were to come into effect in 2021, but got postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Media reports suggest that it later got extended till July 2023. But, in the meantime, hiring continued on the basis of the UGC-NET score.