UGC NET 2025: Tamil Nadu Education Minister Urges Centre To Postpone Exam Due To Pongal – News18

Last Updated:December 25, 2024, 17:17 IST

Tamil Nadu’s Higher Education Minister, Govi Chezhiaan, has urged the Central to reschedule the UGC NET exam set for January 14-16, 2025, due to the Pongal festival.

Tamil Nadu’s Higher Education Minister, Govi Chezhiaan, has urged the Central Government to reschedule the UGC-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) for January 14-16, 2025, due to the Pongal festival.

In a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Chezhiaan highlighted that the National Testing Agency scheduled the UGC-NET December 2024 exams from January 3 to 16, 2025. However, Pongal, a major festival in Tamil Nadu, falls on January 14, followed by Thiruvalluvar Day (Mattu Pongal) on January 15 and Farmers’ Day (Uzhavar Thirunal or Kanum Pongal) on January 16.

The Minister emphasised that Pongal is not just a festival but a symbol of Tamil culture and heritage spanning over 3,000 years. He also noted that the Tamil Nadu government has already declared holidays from January 14 to 16, 2025, for the celebrations.

“If the NET exam is held during the Pongal holidays, it will hamper the preparations for the exam in view of the celebrations,” he said.

Further, Cheziaan said, “I therefore request your kind intervention to reschedule the UGC-NET examinations and other examinations to appropriate dates thereby ensuring that students and scholars of Tamil Nadu and other states where the harvest festival is celebrated can appear for the examinations.” In view of the Pongal festival, the Chartered Accountants foundation examination, January 2025 has been rescheduled, following a request by S Venkatesan, Lok Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu, the Minister pointed out.

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Notably, the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) is a significant exam for candidates aspiring to become assistant professors or junior research fellows (JRFs) in Indian universities and colleges.

The UGC-NET December 2024 will be conducted in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode across 85 subjects. The exam will consist of two sections, carrying a total of 300 marks, with multiple-choice, objective-type questions in both parts.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)