The University Grants Commission (UGC) had earlier mandated the requirement of a Ph.D. for the position of Assistant Professor but later made the decision to make this requirement effective from July 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted the research work of Ph.D. candidates for one and a half years.
An official letter from the commission stated that with effect from July 1, 2023, the Ph.D. shall be a compulsory qualification for direct enrolment to the position of Assistant Professor in the Universities’ Departments. This eligibility criterion has been made as per, an amendment made by UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education), Regulation, 2018 concerning clause 3.10.
Under the new rules, from July 2023, the completion of the Ph.D. degree would be the minimum qualification of a candidate to be eligible for Assistant Professor. While recruitment of eligible candidates will continue based on the UGC’s National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) Score.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has for the time being postponed the requirement of a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree for the recruitment of Assistant Professors until July 2023. That is, for the time being, applicants who do not have a Ph.D. are also eligible for the positions of Asst. Professor.