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On 23 February, 2025, the National Testing Agency (NTA) released its UGC-NET December 2024 cut-off list. The UGC-NET (National Eligibility Test) is the competitive exam that determines your acceptance into PhD programmes, Assistant Professor vacancies, and eligibility for the Junior Research Fellowship.
Despite having declared separate eligibility criteria, cut-off and other relaxations for transgender persons in previous exam notifications, this was the first time that the transgender category was clearly mentioned in the UGC-NET results – a decade after the transgender category was legally recognized in India.
As per the data released, transgender candidates have cleared the separate “TG” cut-off in 13 out of the 85 subjects for which the UGC-NET is conducted. A total of 17 transgender candidates are eligible for JRF fellowships and 18 are eligible for Assistant Professor positions. No transgender candidates were listed in the PhD cut-offs.
| TABLE 1: Extract of Transgender Specific Data from UGC-NET Cut-off List for December 2024 | |||||||||
| # | SubCD* | Subject | Category | JRF | Assistant Professor | PhD Only | |||
| Cutoff | Total Cand | Cutoff | Total Cand | Cutoff | Total Cand | ||||
| 1 | 002 | Political Science | ThirdGender | 186 | 2 | 186 | 2 | —- | —- |
| 2 | 003 | Philosophy | ThirdGender | 120 | 1 | 120 | 1 | —- | —- |
| 3 | 004 | Psychology | ThirdGender | 144 | 1 | 144 | 1 | —- | —- |
| 4 | 009 | Education | ThirdGender | —- | —- | 148 | 1 | —- | —- |
| 5 | 010 | Social Work | ThirdGender | 142 | 2 | 142 | 2 | —- | —- |
| 6 | 023 | Oriya | ThirdGender | 110 | 1 | 110 | 1 | —- | —- |
| 7 | 030 | English | ThirdGender | 118 | 2 | 118 | 2 | —- | —- |
| 8 | 047 | Physical Education | ThirdGender | 122 | 1 | 122 | 1 | —- | —- |
| 9 | 059 | Lib & Info Sciences | ThirdGender | 140 | 1 | 140 | 1 | —- | —- |
| 10 | 063 | Mass Comm, Journalism | ThirdGender | 156 | 2 | 156 | 2 | —- | —- |
| 11 | 065 | Performing Arts | ThirdGender | 120 | 2 | 120 | 2 | —- | —- |
| 12 | 074 | Women Studies | ThirdGender | 156 | 1 | 156 | 1 | —- | —- |
| 13 | 079 | Visual Arts | ThirdGender | 116 | 1 | 116 | 1 | —- | —- |
| 17 | 18 | ||||||||
| Total | Total | Total Cand | Total Cand | Total Cand | |||||
| Subjects | Categories | JRF | Asst Prof | PhD | |||||
| 85 | 26 | 5158 | 53279 | 114445 | |||||
| Percentage Share and/or Presence of Transgender Candidates | |||||||||
| Subjects | Reservation | JRF | Asst Prof | PhD | |||||
| 15.29 | 0.0 | 0.33 | 0.034 | 0.0 | |||||
*Subject Code
Complicated rules and the unclear status of transgender persons
The UGC-NET exam covers three categories of ‘awards’ or ‘eligibility’, with different validity periods and criteria:
– JRF (Junior Research Fellowship) comes with a stipend of 37,000 INR per month. However, to apply for this award there is an age limit of 30 years (with 5 year relaxation for reserved categories, supposedly including transgender persons as well). The JRF award letter is valid only for four years from the date of issue.
– Assistant Professor or lectureship eligibility letter is valid for life and there is no age limit for applying for this certification.
– PhD admission eligibility letters, in specified subjects, are valid only for one year from the date of declaration of results. There is no age limit for application.
Additionally, UGC-NET offers 3-year age relaxation for LLM holders and 5-year age relaxation for armed forces personnel.
These selection scores/letters can be utilized for research and teaching recruitment processes, national fellowships (issued under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to SC, OBC and PwD categories) and admissions to higher educational institutions.
The minimum score required in qualifying examinations (i.e. Masters’ degree) in order to be eligible to apply for UGC-NET is 55% for ‘general’ category and 50% for reserved categories, which according to the UGC-NET bulletin includes transgender category.
However, this qualifying exam criteria becomes significantly higher if the candidate is applying after completing a 4-year Bachelors’ programme. That is, 75% for general category and 70% for reserved categories (that apparently includes transgender persons as well). Given that the UGC is doggedly attempting to change the undergraduate programme from 3-year to 4-year across the country, this would eventually mean that a majority of students will have to achieve 70% or higher in order to apply for UGC-NET. A wholly unsustainable situation, one may agree. And yet another reason (of their own making) for the government to crib about vacancies.
According to the UGC-NET bulletin: “Candidates belonging to the Third gender category are eligible to draw the same relaxation in fee, age and Eligibility Criteria for NET (i.e. JRF and Assistant Professor) as are available to SC/ST/PwD categories. The subject-wise qualifying cut-offs for this category would be the lowest among those for SC / ST / PwD / OBC–NCL / General-EWS categories in the corresponding subject.”
Therefore, while applying for UGC-NET as a transgender person, one will have to pay application fee of 325 INR, and one will receive only a total of 5-year age relaxation, and the cut-off will be lowered. But how does this translate into substantial advancement for transgender persons?
The reservation scheme
The 26 categories considered in UGC-NET, with accompanying type of reservation is as under:
| TABLE 2: List of categories recognized in UGC-NET | |||
| # | Category | Meaning | Type |
| 1 | UNRESERVED | “General” category | Vertical |
| 2 | OBC(NCL) | Other Backward Classes, “non-creamy layer” | Vertical |
| 3 | EWS | Economically weaker sections | Vertical |
| 4 | SC | Scheduled Castes | Vertical |
| 5 | ST | Scheduled Tribes | Vertical |
| 6 | PWD-VI-UR | Disabled Persons/Visual impairment [in] Unreserved | Horizontal |
| 7 | PWD-HI-UR | Disabled Persons/Hearing impairment [in] Unreserved | Horizontal |
| 8 | PWD-LM-UR | Disabled Persons/Locomotor [in] Unreserved | Horizontal |
| 9 | PWD-OD&AO-UR | Disabled Persons/Ortho & Acid Attack [in] Unreserved | Horizontal |
| 10 | PWD-VI-OB | Disabled Persons/Visual impairment [in] OBC | Horizontal |
| 11 | PWD-HI-OB | Disabled Persons/Hearing impairment [in] OBC | Horizontal |
| 12 | PWD-LM-OB | Disabled Persons/Locomotor [in] OBC | Horizontal |
| 13 | PWD-OD&AO-OB | Disabled Persons/Ortho & Acid Attack [in] OBC | Horizontal |
| 14 | PWD-VI-SC | Disabled Persons/Visual impairment [in] SC | Horizontal |
| 15 | PWD-HI-SC | Disabled Persons/Hearing impairment [in] SC | Horizontal |
| 16 | PWD-LM-SC | Disabled Persons/Locomotor [in] SC | Horizontal |
| 17 | PWD-OD&AO-SC | Disabled Persons/Ortho & Acid Attack [in] SC | Horizontal |
| 18 | PWD-VI-ST | Disabled Persons/Visual impairment [in] ST | Horizontal |
| 19 | PWD-HI-ST | Disabled Persons/Hearing impairment [in] ST | Horizontal |
| 20 | PWD-LM-ST | Disabled Persons/Locomotor [in] ST | Horizontal |
| 21 | PWD-OD&AO-ST | Disabled Persons/Ortho & Acid Attack [in] ST | Horizontal |
| 22 | PWD-VI-EW | Disabled Persons/Visual impairment [in] EWS | Horizontal |
| 23 | PWD-HI-EW | Disabled Persons/Hearing impairment [in] EWS | Horizontal |
| 24 | PWD-LM-EW | Disabled Persons/Locomotor [in] EWS | Horizontal |
| 25 | PWD-OD&AO-EW | Disabled Persons/Ortho & Acid Attack [in] EWS | Horizontal |
| 26 | ThirdGender | Transgender persons | Neither |
The complicated process for allotment of reservation, as described in the UGC-NET bulletin is as follows:
“1) The following steps will be followed for the preparation of Result:
Step I: The number of candidates to be qualified for eligibility for Assistant Professor shall be equal to 6% of the candidates appeared in NET (in both the papers) on the basis of their Master’s Degree or equivalent examination.
Step II: The total slots shall be allocated to different categories as per the reservation policy of Government of India.
Step III: In order to be considered, the candidate must have appeared in both the papers and secured at least 40% aggregate marks in both the papers taken together for General (Unreserved) / GeneralEWS category candidates and at least 35% aggregate marks in both the papers taken together for all candidates belonging to the reserved categories (viz., SC, ST, OBC (belonging to Non- Creamy Layer), PwD and Third gender).
Step IV: The number of candidates to be declared qualified in any subject for a particular category is derived as per the methodology illustrated below:
Example: Number of candidates to be declared qualified for Eligibility for Assistant Professor in the subject ‘Economics’ for the Scheduled Caste (SC) category –
Number of candidates* belonging to SC category who secure at least 35% aggregate marks in both the papers taken together in ‘Economics’ (x) Total slots derived for SC category as per Step II (÷) Total number of candidates* belonging to SC category over all subjects who secure at least 35% aggregate marks in both the papers taken together.
The aggregate percentage of the two papers corresponding to the number of slots arrived at, shall determine the qualifying cut-off for Eligibility for Assistant Professor ‘in ‘Economics’ for the SC category. Similar yardstick shall be employed for deriving the subject-wise qualifying cut- offs for all categories.
Step V: The total number of slots available for awarding JRF is allocated among different categories as per the reservation policy of Government of India.
It may be noted that, notwithstanding the above, the qualifying criteria as decided by UGC is final and binding.”
As per the above facts, it is safe to conclude that merely clearing the cut-off (howsoever lowered) does not automatically translate to receiving and enjoying the benefits of the award letter.
Since there are no slots reserved either horizontally or vertically for transgender candidates, and since the UGC is categorizing all transgender candidates including those who belong to SC, ST, OBC and PwD categories outside their caste and disability categories (thereby forcibly erasing the protections due under their caste and disability), all transgender candidates will be eliminated at Step II of the result preparation process laid out above.
At best, as a lottery, in case of a vacancy in any ‘low stakes’ subject with lesser participation and prospects, a transgender candidate (most likely from the general category) who has cleared the separate cut-off may be considered for the Assistant Professor certificate. That is, the certificate which is valid for life.
Further, as clear from ‘Step V’ above, transgender candidates who cleared the cut-off will definitely not be awarded a JRF since the GoI reservation policy does not contemplate transgender persons.
The PhD admission eligibility, which appears to be the only one without an unduly complicated scheme, in case of transgender persons doesn’t come into play for these results since no transgender candidate has been granted separate cut-off.
It is unclear whether this is because no one applied specifically for PhD or whether this was an active suppression to prevent transgender candidates from becoming eligible to apply for PhD programmes in HEIs of the country.
Therefore, as part of the piecemeal and irrational distribution of rights to transgender persons, a few relaxations have eased entry into the level of application and appearing for such exams. But, in the absence of seat allotment and reservations in the exam awards and across education and employment all over, transgender candidates would have simply paid the fee and borne the costs for appearing for such exams to no real advantage.
Requirements for securing the future
It is pertinent to note here that in UGC-NET cisgender women do not have horizontal reservation. It is unfortunate that they haven’t sought such reservation yet, especially when it pertains to the award of significant monetary resources under JRF and securing lifetime Assistant Professor positions, necessary for both educational and financial independence.
In order for the efforts of transgender candidates in such exams to bear fruit, apart from the cost and age relaxations currently applicable, the following are also essential:
- Horizontal reservation of up to 2% in UGC-NET for transgender persons. Considering the national nature of the examination, without at least 2% reservation transgender candidates from different regions will not secure a fair chance.
- Increased age relaxation: Up to at least 40 years for all transgender candidates, wherever age limits exist in order to ensure equality of opportunity (especially in access to JRF funding).
- Horizontal relaxation in eligibility and other criteria: That is, if there is a 5% relaxation in qualifying marks for vertical categories, the same must also be applied horizontally. Therefore, for general category transgender persons, the minimum aggregate score becomes 35% and for SC, ST, OBC and PwD transgender candidates the minimum aggregate score becomes 30%. This is the essence of horizontal reservation. That is, assured representation by allotment of seats horizontally, along with substantial relaxations applied horizontally to ensure the filling of those seats.
- Directions to all HEIs and recruiters to implement the same.
How a transgender person’s efforts resulted in this first step
It is important to document here that the UGC did not voluntarily start declaring a separate cut-off for transgender candidates from 2024-25.
In November of 2022, Yashika Singh, who applied under the SC and transgender category wrote multiple representations to the Chairman of UGC highlighting that despite the UGC notification for 2021-22 stating that “Third Gender” candidates will be eligible for relaxations and a separate (lowest) cut-off such was never implemented. Instead, she pointed out, the result was declared without a separate cut-off for transgender persons. Even though she applied under the SC and Transgender category, the subject for which she appeared (in Dec 2021-June 2022 cycle) did not show a separate cut-off as required by UGC’s own notification. Despite getting good scores, UGC ended up disqualifying her for JRF and Assistant Professor allotments. Her representations and grievances were never addressed.
After two years, finally the UGC has started by at least abiding by its own notification and declaring a separate cut-off. It remains unclear whether a separate ‘vertical’ cut-off alone will help. It also remains unclear as to how much longer they will drag their feet before implementing the reservation scheme in favour of transgender persons.