UGC to assess quality of PhDs in last 10 years
The assessment of around 2 lakh PhDs will be done through random sampling method
In the last 10 years, the maximum
number of PhDs has been awarded across the universities. In the session,
2007-08, as many as 13,237 PhD degrees were awarded, which increased two-folds
in 2017-18 where 34,400 scholars were awarded PhDs in various academic fields.
Lack of a centralised record system of research topics being pursued by
scholars is the reason behind increasing PhDs, says Raja Shekhar Bellamkonda,
dean of the School of Management Studies and director of Internal Quality
Assurance Cell (IQAC), University of Hyderabad (UoH).
“Many times, scholars in different
parts of the country are unaware of similar research being conducted elsewhere,
that leads to identical studies. This has led to an increase without any value
addition,” he adds.
UGC has invited proposals for a sixmonth study on ‘Quality of PhD theses in
Indian universities’, which will analyse the quality of researches carried out
in the various central, state, private and deemed-tobe universities over the
Expressing concern over the quality of the exponentially increasing number of
researches, Rajnish Jain, secretary, UGC, says, “The number of universities and
gross enrolment ratio (GER) has been increasing, which is also leading to
proportional growth in the number of students pursuing PhD degrees. We want to
ensure that the quality is not deteriorating with increasing number of PhD
theses.”
The study will help in qualitative
analysis of around 2 lakh PhDs awarded in the last 10 years “It is difficult to
put all the researches under the quality scanner, hence, the study last decade.
will be conducted through the sampling process, where a particular number of
theses will be thoroughly analysed to extrapolate the findings at national as
well as state levels,” adds Jain.
The remuneration and total scholars
participating in the study has not been fixed and depends on the quality of the
proposals that the UGC will receive by June 10, 2019.
SHIFTING TRENDS
PhDs in Sciences and Arts, for long, have maintained
equilibrium and accounted for an average of 70% of total researches. However,
theses in Sciences have increased in the last few years. The UGC official cites
thrust on tech-research as a major reason behind the increase.
“Researches in Science and
Technology (S&T) have been given major thrust in the last few years with
various fellowships, government initiatives and MHRD schemes, which is one of
the reasons that Science PhDs are taking the lead,” says Jain.
Students are opting for PhDs in
Sciences to have access to increasing employment says Bellamkonda.
Source |
Times of India | 3rd June 2019
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Mr.
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Senior Manager @ Knowledge
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