Nagpur.
The Central Board of Secondary Education’s maiden attempt at conducting the National Eligibility Test (NET) seems to be heading towards many problems. Its online application process is failing on many counts. The applicants have had no word from the Board so far, have complained of numerous issues that have cropped up while trying to submit their applications. The last date for registering is November 15.
According to information the applicants are facing problems while submitting the application. When they are trying to log onto the website and put thier password, it says that eight to 13 characters are needed. However, even when they type in a full 13-character it is not accepted. The applicants also faced problem of the website being shut down completely on somedays.
Other problems ranged from the text of the application getting automatically wiped out to the website shutting down suddenly. In some incidents applicants are unable to complete the whole form but could not upload thier photograph as required.
All these years, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had been conducting these exams which qualify a candidate to become an assistant professor or for the Junior Research Fellowship. Although this exam still falls under the UGC, the responsibility to conduct the exam was handed over to the CBSE this year.
They have introduced a net payment gateway this time. But since many of the applicants could not complete the payment process even after completing the form, they are paying the money physically through a bank draft.
The exam is to be conducted in 79 subjects at 89 selected NET Coordinating Institutions spread across the country. While there is currently no age limit for the assistant professor or lectureship, a person beyond 28 years cannot apply for the fellowship. The candidates who qualify for the fellowship will be able to pursue research in the subject of their post-graduation or in a related subject and are also eligible for Assistant Professor. Universities, institutions, the Indian Institute of Technologies and other national organisations usually select the JRF awardees for whole time research work.
