SRINAGAR: The University Grants Commission (UGC) awards 11,750 Junior Research Fellowships (JRFs) annually to candidates qualifying the National Eligibility Test (NET), while six per cent of candidates appearing for the examination are qualified for Assistant Professor eligibility, the Ministry of Education informed the Lok Sabha.
Minister of State for Education Dr Sukanta Majumdar said the JRFs are awarded from among candidates qualifying the UGC-NET, with the number of annual fellowship slots fixed at 11,750.
The clarification came in response to a Lok Sabha question on the alleged disparity between the number of UGC-NET qualifiers and the number of JRFs available each year.
The Ministry did not provide year-wise figures for the number of candidates qualifying UGC-NET, JRFs awarded or the proportion of qualified candidates receiving fellowships in its reply.
It also did not announce any proposal to increase the annual JRF allocation or revise the existing eligibility criteria.
The Government said fellowships are also offered by various ministries and organisations to support PhD scholars. Special fellowships are available for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Persons with Disabilities and Single Girl Child.
PhD scholars can also join research projects sanctioned to universities by various funding agencies and access financial support under such projects.
The Ministry further stated that some students are admitted to PhD programmes by universities without financial support. To extend assistance to such scholars, the UGC provides Non-NET Fellowships in the form of a stipend.
These fellowships are available to MPhil and PhD students enrolled in Central Universities and have particularly benefited students studying in universities in remote areas and the North-Eastern region.
The reply did not specify any timeline for revision of the Non-NET Fellowship, currently cited in the question as Rs 8,000 per month since 2006.
