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29. Subsequently, an amendment was made in UGC Regulations, 2000 by providing as under :-

"NET shall remain the compulsory requirement for appointment as Lecturer even for candidates having Ph. D. degree. However, the candidates who have completed M. Phil degree by 31st December, 1993 or have submitted Ph. D. thesis to the University in the concerned subject on or before 31st December, 2002, are exempted from appearing in the NET examination. In case such candidates fail to obtain Ph. D. degree, they shall have to pass the NET examination."

32. NCTE Regulations, 2002 were subsequently substituted by NCTE (Recognition Norms and Procedure) Regulations 2009 and therein also in Appendix-4, for the institutions running B. Ed. Courses, qualification for appointment of Lecturer was provided which included one of the condition as under :

"Any other stipulation prescribed by UGC/affiliating body/State Government from time to time for the positions of Principals and Lecturers shall be mandatory."

(emphasis added)

33. A Committee was constituted namely, Mungekar Committee which submitted its report recommending that NET should be made a compulsory requirement for appointment of Lecturers in addition to qualification of M. Phil or Ph. D. Degree. Consequently, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India (hereinafter referred to as the "Central Government") issued an Office Memorandum dated 12.11.2008 with following directions :

"UGC shall, for serving the national purpose of maintaining standards of higher education, frame appropriate Regulations within a period of thirty days from the date of issue of this order prescribing that qualifying in NET/SLET shall generally be compulsory for all persons appointed to teaching positions of Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Higher Education, and only persons who possess degree of Ph. D. after having been enrolled/admitted to a programme notified by the Commission, after it has satisfied itself on the basis of expert opinion, as to be or have always been in conformity with the procedure of standardization of Ph. D. prescribed by it, and also that the degree of Ph. D. was awarded by a University or Institution Deemed to be University notified by the UGC as having already complied with the procedure prescribed under the Regulations framed by the Commission for the purpose."

39. Supreme Court further held that Section 26 enables UGC to make Regulations only if they consistent with UGC Act, 1956. This necessarily means that such Regulation must conform to Section 20 of Act and under Section 20 of Act, Central Government is given power to give directions on the questions of policy relating to national purposes which shall guide UGC to discharge its functions under UGC Act, 1956. Having said so and stressing upon the fact that passing of NET would be compulsory, Court said: