CHENNAI: The postponement of the UGC-National Eligibility Test (NET), originally planned to be held on January 15, is a rightful decision, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Tuesday and slammed the 'practice' of scheduling exams on the days of Tamil festivals.

In a post on 'X,' Stalin said: "I had written to the Union Education Minister requesting the rescheduling of the UGC NET exams. It is a rightful decision that the exams have now been postponed!

It has become a recurring practice for the Union Government to announce major exams on Tamil cultural festival days, only to reschedule them following state intervention. Let us hope that, moving forward, every institution in this country respects its rich diversity and considers the sentiments of all its people when making decisions."

On January 13, the National Testing Agency announced the postponement of UGC-NET. "The NTA has received representations to postpone the exam on January 15 on account of festivals, including Pongal and Makar Sakranti. In the interest of the aspirants, the exam has been postponed and a new date will be announced later," Rajesh Kumar, Director (Exams), NTA, had said.