More than 1.5 llakh apply for APSET

Massive response to the A.P. State Eligibility Test (APSET) from candidates searching for eligibility for a teaching job in the colleges and universities has surprised the officials, who however say the successful candidates may not be high as is being expected by the aspirants.

About 1.6 lakh candidates applied for the APSET being conducted after 13 years with the hope that a pass in the test will give them the all important eligibility certificate. There is a wrong notion that all the candidates clearing the exam will be declared eligible. Only the top three or four per cent of the candidates will be declared eligible as is being done in the UGC-NET. “The result process will be done with the assistance of the UGC and it will decide on the number of eligible candidates to be declared,” said B. Rajeswara Reddy, Member Secretary, APSET. “Let there be some clarity on the eligibility issue,” says Prof. Reddy adding that it may not cross four per cent of the applicants. He reminds that success percentage at UGC-NET has never crossed four per cent. In the SETs conducted by different States recently is also an indication. In Gujarat it was just 1.8 per cent, Karnataka 3.8 per cent and Tamil Nadu around 4 per cent. In fact, the State government showed about 3,500 teaching vacancies while releasing the notification and the UGC will select the list keeping that number in mind. The massive response is understood as the UGC-NET is hard to clear with competition at the national level and NET or APSET certificate becoming mandatory for teaching jobs in the colleges and universities apart from promotions to the existing faculty. Candidates who have passed M. Phil prior to 1993 must possess NET or SET for being eligible for the posts of Assistant Professor. The UGC felt the need to make NET and SET mandatory for the purpose of appointment to teaching posts to upgrade standards.

The eligibility status will be valid lifetime.
Source; The Hindu, HYDERABAD, June 15, 2012