Students threaten stir over 2-yr delay in PhD admissions process

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Student organisations have threatened to launch a mass agitation against Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University’s (Bamu) administration for the prolonged delay in completing the PET-2024 PhD admission process.

The process has left 1,436 selected research scholars waiting for admission confirmation for nearly two years.

Representatives of research scholars and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) also submitted a memorandum to the university administration, warning that a large-scale protest could be launched if the issue was not resolved at the earliest.

The delegation had sought a meeting with the acting vice-chancellor to raise concerns over the pending admissions. However, the delegation alleged they were unable to meet the university head and were asked to submit their memorandum to the personal assistant instead.

SFI representative Arun Mate said, “The students; primary demand is the immediate issuance of provisional confirmation letters to candidates selected through the PhD Entrance Test (PET)-2024 and the commencement of coursework.”

According to the memorandum, the university issued the PhD admission notification on July 1, 2024, accepted applications until Aug 31, 2024, and conducted the PET examination on Oct 3, 2024. The Research and Recognition Committee (RRC) process was completed in February 2025, while results were declared on March 25, 2025. Proposals of candidates selected through the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) were submitted to the university by June 6, 2025.

“Despite the completion of these stages, scholars said they have not received provisional admission letters, confirmation letters or a coursework schedule,” said Ballal.

Student leaders said the delay has pushed hundreds of aspiring researchers into uncertainty, affecting their academic progression and career prospects. They pointed out that many candidates have already spent significant time, money and effort preparing for and completing the admission process.

The memorandum noted that a writ petition related to PET-2024 is pending before the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court, resulting in the process remaining stalled. However, students demanded that the university actively pursue an early hearing and keep candidates informed about developments in the case.

The researchers also expressed concern that upcoming fellowship schemes of agencies such as SARTHI, BARTI, Mahajyoti and other state-backed institutions could become inaccessible to them because applications generally require admission-related documents that have not yet been issued.

Copies of the memorandum were sent to the governor, the state higher and technical education minister, the chairman of the University Grants Commission, the Union education minister and other authorities concerned, said SFI office bearers.