THE NEW GUIDELINES
— the revised guidelines stipulate that minority students seeking the fellowship from this year are required to have qualified the National Eligibility Test.
— The revised guidelines read, “ Selection of the minority students for award of a fellowship under the scheme will be made on the basis of merit in the NET conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).” This rule would be brought to force from this academic year.
WHAT IS NET
The NET examination is conducted by Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSE or Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR.As reported by DH, the award for the fellowship from 2018-19 has been linked to the scores of the NET examination.
THE BACKDROP OF THE MOVE
Candidates belonging to minority groups were earlier not required to have a NET qualification until last year. The revision has been brought to effect from this year’s enrollments. CBSE and CSIR separately conduct the NET examination every year for determining the eligibility of candidates for the award of junior research fellowships with recognized universities.
WHAT IS MAULANA AZAD NATIONAL FELLOWSHIP
The Maulana Azad National Fellowship is awarded by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs but regulated by the UGC as the nodal agency for the award of the fellowship. As per the information available. The total number of fellowship available for 2018-19 and 2019-20 is 1000. Please note, out of the total fellowships available, 30% are reserved for minority female students. These seats would be offered male students of the same minority in case an adequate number of female applications are not available. The remaining 700 or 70% seats would be open to all.
News Source: Times Now News
