As Tamil Nadu celebrates the harvest festival ‘Pongal’ from January 14 to 16, 2025, the UGC-National Eligibility Test scheduled to be held on those days should also be rescheduled, Higher Education Minister Govi ​​Chezian has appealed to the Centre. Monday.
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Writing to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Chejian said that the National Testing Agency under the Ministry of Education has scheduled UGC-NET December 2024 from January 3 to 16, 2025. Pongal festival falls on January 14, 2025 and Tiruvalluvar day (Mattu Pongal). ) the next day and Kisan Diwas is celebrated (Ujhawar Thirunal–Kanum Pongal) on 16th January.
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Pongal is not just a festival, but “a symbol of our culture and traditional heritage that spans over 3,000 years,” the minister stressed and added that the Tamil Nadu government has already declared a holiday from January 14 to 16, 2025 for the Pongal festival.
“If the NET exam is held during the Pongal holidays, the preparation for the exam will be hampered in view of the festivities,” he said. Further, Chezian said, “I therefore request your kind intervention to reschedule the UGC-NET exams and other exams on suitable dates so that students and scholars from Tamil Nadu and other states where the harvest festival is celebrated can appear for the exams.”
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In view of the Pongal festival, the Chartered Accountants Foundation Exam, January 2025 has been rescheduled at the request of Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha MP S Venkatesan, the minister pointed out.