6 days ago
Disparity in mark weightage for JRF & NET: PhD aspirants
Hyderabad: PhD aspirants, research scholars and student organisations have submitted a petition to
Osmania University
, demanding equal weightage for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and National Eligibility Test (NET) holders in admissions.
They argue that, even under category 2 admissions, which are open to students with JRF, NET and State Eligibility Test (SET) qualifications, candidates with JRF qualifications are given an unfair advantage.
"Under category 1 admissions, only JRF students are admitted. They have the opportunity to apply once every six months. Now, in category 2, OU is giving them an extra 5 marks, which will give them an unfair advantage.
How is this fair?" asked Satya Nelli, a research scholar.
He added that, during the 2022–23 admissions, both JRF and NET candidates were awarded 15 marks. However, this year, JRF candidates have been given an additional five marks.
They urged the university to rectify the disparity in the weighting of marks allocated to JRF and NET holders under category 2 PhD admissions for the 2025 academic year. They claim that the recent change imposes an additional barrier for NET/SET holders, who are only eligible under category 2, as they now face a further disadvantage due to the unequal marking system.
