UGC NET December 2024: Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister Govi Chezhiaan has written a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urging him to reschedule the UGC-NET December 2024 exam in view of the harvest festival 'Pongal' celebrations from January 14 to 16 in the state.
In a letter to Pradhan, Cheziaan said that the National Testing Agency under the Education Ministry has scheduled the UGC-NET December 2024 from January 3 to 16, 2025. The Pongal festival falls on January 14, 2025 and Thiruvalluvar Day (Mattu Pongal) is celebrated the following day and the Farmers Day (Uzhavar Thirunal-- Kanum Pongal) on January 16.
'Pongal is not just a festival'
The Tamil Nadu festival underlined that Pongal is not just a festival but it is an "emblem of our culture and traditional heritage that dates back over 3,000 years." He said the Tamil Nadu government has already declared a holiday from January 14 to 16, 2025 for the Pongal festival.
"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.
CA Foundation exam rescheduled
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."
The minister also informed that in view of the Pongal festival, the Chartered Accountants Foundation Examination (CA), January 2025 has been rescheduled on the request of S Venkatesan, Lok Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu.
When will the exams be held?
The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the UGC-NET December 2024 exam for 85 subjects through Computer Based Test (CBT) mode in various cities across the country from 3 January 2025 to 16 January 2025. The UGC NET December 2024 exam will be conducted in two shifts– the first from 9 am to 12 noon and the second from 3 pm to 6 pm.
The official notification states that, "Candidates please note that this is not the admit card for the examination. It is an advance notice for the allocation of the city of the examination center for the convenience of the candidates."
(With PTI inputs)
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