Are all AICTE approved PGDM eligible for NET?

In order to answer the question “Are all AICTE approved PGDM eligible for NET?”, let us first understand some fundamental things about NET:

The abbreviation NET stands for National Eligibility Test and it is conducted on behalf of the University Grants Commission (UGC). It is essentially a national level eligibility test that recruits candidates for government colleges at the post of research assistants and assistant professors.

As far as the eligibility criteria are concerned, all Master’s degree holders with a minimum of 55% marks (50% for reserved category) can apply for this exam. In the case of PGDM programs, however, the eligibility criterion is slightly different.

Only those students who have completed their Post Graduation Diploma in Management (PGDM) from an AICTE-approved institute and have been awarded diploma which is considered to be equivalent to the Master’s degree of recognized Indian Universities from Association of Indian Universities (AIU), New Delhi are eligible for registering in the UGC NET exam.

A word about AIU is most warranted here:

Primarily an apex organization and association of major universities in India, the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) evaluates the courses, syllabi, standards, and credits of programs like PGDM and the programs of foreign universities being pursued abroad and equates them in respect to various courses being offered by Indian universities. The main function of AIU relates to providing recognition of degrees/diplomas being awarded by the universities in India, which are duly recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, and abroad for the purpose of admission to higher degree courses in the various Indian universities.

It follows that AICTE approval alone does not make PGDM eligible for NET. Only those institutes whose PGDM program has been certified by AIU are fully eligible for NET.  Hence, aspiring students of management having the ambition to pursue their career in the field of academics should be careful to select a PGDM college that has this AIU affiliation as its credential.

It may not be out of place to mention here that the flagship PGDM program offered at Asian Business School (ABS), Noida is not only accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), but has also been granted equivalence to MBA Degree of an Indian University by Association of Indian Universities (AIU).

Some major highlights of this AIU affiliation for Asian Business School are:

• ABS PGDM program is now equivalent to MBA Degree of an Indian University
• ABS students can pursue higher studies abroad and do their PhD after doing PGDM from here as now it is equivalent to a Master’s Degree (MBA) from an Indian University
• Students of ABS who are interested in making their career in academics, will now be eligible to appear for UGC – NET with this equivalence from AIU
• ABS PGDM students can now also apply for Government Jobs where Master’s Degree or equivalent is the eligibility requirement

Admissions for the new batch of ABS PGDM is currently in full swing. Interested students may visit the college website www.abs.edu.in for all details.