CHENNAI: As the harvest festival of Pongal approaches in Tamil Nadu, Higher Education Minister Govi Chezhiaan has urged the Union government to reschedule the UGC-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) 2024. Scheduled between January 3 and 16, 2025, the exam coincides with the important Pongal celebrations, which fall from January 14 to 16, 2025. The Minister expressed concern that holding the exam during these festive days would disrupt preparations for students, especially in Tamil Nadu, where the festival is a major cultural event.
Writing to Union Education Minister, Dharmendra 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. 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 was not merely a festival, but an “emblem of our culture and traditional heritage that spans over 3,000 years,” the Minister underscored and added that the Tamil Nadu government had already declared holidays 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.
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.”
In view of the Pongal festival, the Chartered Accountants foundation examination, January 2025 has been rescheduled, following a request by S Venkatesan, Lok Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu, the Minister pointed out.