UGC will now treat the Cost Accountant qualification equivalent to the post-graduation degree. Candidates with the Cost Accountant (CMA) qualification will now be treated as post-graduation degree holder and can apply for UGC NET. As per the latest press note released by the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI), UGC has accepted the request to consider candidates with Chartered Accountant (CA), Company Secretary (CS) or Cost and Works Accountant (ICWA) qualification equal to postgraduate degree.
CMA Biswarup Basu, President of ICAI has requested Union Grants Commission to consider the CA, CS or ICWA i.e Cost Account qualification equivalent to the postgraduate level qualification. This consideration was brought to light as CAs were unable to pursue higher studies after the CMA qualification.
After this, UGC constitutes a committee to discuss the outcomes. The Commission in its 550th meeting that was conducted on February 18, 2021, considered the request made by ICAI. After formal discussion, UGC has landed on the decision to accept the CMA qualification equivalent to the Post Graduation (PG) degree under “CA/ CS/ ICWA Qualification Considered equivalent to PG degree”. Now, CA, CS or ICWA students can pursue higher studies including the PhD in Commerce and Allied Disciplines said ICAI president in a release.
Following the press release by ICAI, the committee also tweeted a welcoming message of this decision. The tweet states “The University Grant Commission has resolved that CA qualification will be treated equivalent to a PG degree based on requests from ICAI. This decision will help CAs for pursuing higher studies and also facilitate the mobility of Indian CAs globally”.
Moreover, after accepting the request made by ICAI, CA/ CS/ ICWA pass students can also appear for the UGC NET examination. Now that the Cost Accountant qualification is equivalent to the PG degree, candidates with CA/ CS/ ICWA are also eligible and can submit an application for Union Grants Commission National Level Eligibility Test. UGC NET is a national level teacher eligibility test for the post of Assistant Professorship, Junior Research Fellowship for both the Indian Universities and Colleges.
This year, UGC NET Examination December 2020 (taking place as UGC NET May 2021) is scheduled to take place from May 02 to 17, 2021. Recently UGC has concluded the application form for the UGC NET exam. The call letters for this national level examination will be out next month on April 15, 2021. Candidates participating this year can download UGC NET admit card and other updates via the official website.
