Gujarat University has announced a new PhD admission process that diverges from government mandates, creating confusion for prospective students. Instead of following the Gujarat Common Admission Service (GCAS) portal as directed, the university will conduct its admissions through the ‘Samarth’ portal.

Students will now face the challenge of registering on two separate platforms — the Samarth portal for Gujarat University and the GCAS portal for other institutions. This dual registration requirement complicates an already intricate admission process, which typically wraps up by late September following entrance exams held in July.

The government has mandated that 11 state universities and 3 other institutions conduct their PhD admissions via the GCAS portal, yet no official announcements regarding this process have been made as September draws to a close. This has left many students uncertain about the timeline for their admissions.

Despite requests for subject-wise meeting details from the government, Gujarat University, along with three other universities, did not provide the necessary information. Reports suggest that Gujarat University delayed communication with the government until the last moment before unveiling its own independent admission process.

Online registration on the Samarth portal is set to begin on September 26, with the PhD entrance exam scheduled for October 20. The state government insists on a common admission process exclusively through the GCAS portal, with exceptions only for Gujarat Technological University (GTU). As a result, students are required to navigate both registration systems.

Previously, the University opted for oral exams for soft skills rather than written tests, contradicting the Standard Operating Procedures outlined by the National Education Policy.

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