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The National Eligibility Test (NET), also referred to as UGC NET or NTA UGC NET, is a crucial examination in India for determining eligibility for the Assistant Professor position and the Junior Research Fellowship in Colleges and Universities. Many candidates with a Master’s degree in Commerce often have uncertainties about UGC NET eligibility.
Specifically, Chartered Accountants and Company Secretaries professionals aspiring to become Assistant professors raise questions about their eligibility to appear in the UGC NET exam. In this article, we aim to address and clarify the doubts surrounding UGC NET eligibility for CA candidates.
What is CA (Chartered Accountants)?
Chartered Accountants are professionals concerned to deal with different branches of accounting like financial accounting, cost accounting, management accounting, reporting, auditing, insurance, finance, taxation and capital formation etc aspects. A CA is also responsible for maintaining the financial aspects of a company.
For becoming CA candidate has to proceed through different stages i.e. CA Foundation, CA Intermediate, Article ship Training and CA Final. CA candidate is eligible to serve corporate of the country.
What is UGC NET exam?
The NET exam is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on behalf of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and its purpose is to determine the eligibility of the candidate for college and university-level Assistant professor and for the award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) for Indian nationals. For being eligible to appear for UGC NET exam candidate needs to have Masters Degree in concerned subject.
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria
Candidate who has passed or is in final year of his or her masters in commerce can apply for the UGC NET exam in commerce. This UGC NET eligibility criterion was mandatory to be fulfilled by each appearing candidate who wants to enter into the teaching field.
Earlier, Chartered Accountancy was not considered as a postgraduate course but as professional degree. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has resolved that Chartered Accountancy (CA) qualification is now be treated as equivalent to postgraduate degrees. Candidates having following eligibility can surely apply for UGC NET exam:
- Master’s Degrees with at least 55% (50% for candidates SC/ ST/ PwD/ Transgender)
- CA, CS, or ICWA can also apply
- Candidates who are in the final year of their masters can also apply for the exam.
Subject Combination for CA candidate in UGC NET exam
As per UGC NET Eligibility Criteria, Charted Accountant (CA) are eligible for appearing in UGC NET Exam. Here we have more question related to UGC NET Exam for CA i.e. Which UGC NET subject should be choose by CA students. As UGC NET have many subjects which concern with commerce field i.e. Commerce, Economics, Management etc. Subject Combination Selection really depends on the individual Chartered Accountant’s interests and career goals.
- If a Chartered Accountant is interested in pursuing a career in teaching or research in the field of Commerce, Management, they may choose to appear for the UGC NET in Commerce or Management.
- If they are interested in pursuing a career in Economics or Finance, they may choose to appear for the UGC NET in Economics. Ultimately, the choice of subject will depend on the Chartered Accountant’s personal interests and career goals.
Is CA Eligible to apply for UGC NET exam?
Yes, with the change in the eligibility criterion now candidates having CA (Chartered Accountancy) certification can now apply for UGC NET exam in commerce. University Grant Commission (UGC) has announced that CA will now be considered equivalent to a Post Graduate degree w.e.f. 15th March 2021 and hence, a candidate having CA certification doesn’t need to have a Master’s Degree to become eligible for the UGC NET exam. Following you can refer to the letter issued by UGC with respect to CA/ CS/ ICWA eligibility for UGC NET exam.
CA Eligibility for UGC NET exam
In nutshell, it is a big relief provided by UGC to the candidates having professional degrees like CA that they can to join higher education industry without holding separate postgraduate degree.