Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will return to conducting its in-house entrance examinations for PhD admissions starting from the next academic session. This decision comes three years after outsourcing the responsibility to the National Testing Agency (NTA), as announced by Vice Chancellor Santishree D Pandit on Monday.

Pandit explained that the prevailing consensus strongly favored reverting to the previous pattern of admissions. Students and faculty had been advocating for the university to resume control of the entrance examination process.

“We will reintroduce the Jawaharlal Nehru University Entrance Examination for PhD admissions because the majority opinion emphasizes the importance of critical analysis for PhD candidates, which is not facilitated by multiple-choice questions (MCQs),” Pandit stated during a press briefing.

For the past three years, the National Testing Agency (NTA) had been responsible for conducting the entrance examination, where candidates seeking admission to PhD programs were required to take a Computer-Based Test.

Throughout the past year, both teachers and students had raised concerns about the NTA-led examination. The JNU Teachers’ Association had issued a statement earlier this year, alleging that the administration of admissions to the university’s prestigious PhD programs lacked professionalism.

The JNU Students’ Union had also organized a demonstration, demanding the restoration of academic autonomy to universities and the return of examination responsibility to the university itself.