Srinagar: Under the new provision, the UGC has allowed the PhD degree holders from a foreign university/institution ranked among top 500 in the World Universities to apply for direct recruitment as an Assistant Professor in Indian Universities and Colleges, a tweet by HRD Ministry said.

Usually, the candidates eligible for the post are required to have minimum 55 per cent marks in  Master’s degree in concerned/relevant/allied subject from an Indian University, or an equivalent degree from an accredited foreign university. The candidate must have also cleared the National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by the UGC or the CSIR, or a similar test accredited by the UGC, like SLET/SET. PhD degree holders from Indian university, with required percentage in Masters’, are also eligible for the direct recruitment.

The new provision for international PhD holders cuts down the minimum requirements related to Masters’ programme.

The top 500 ranking of the university shall be referred from four famous world university ranking systems –  (i) Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) (ii) the Times Higher Education (THE) or (iii) the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Shanghai).

It is important to note that the provisions are only meant for short-listing of the candidates for interview. The selections shall be based only on the performance in the interview, the notification issued on July 18 said.