What are the highlights of the recent UGC guidelines for PhD? What are the concerns associated with the change?

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued new PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) degree guidelines, which include a number of changes to the eligibility criteria, admission procedure, and evaluation methods that govern doctoral programmes in colleges and universities.

Key highlights:

• The UGC has eliminated the prerequisites for submitting research articles to peer-reviewed journals or giving presentations at conferences. 
• This approach is intended to put an end to the harmful habit of many scientists paying low-quality, predatory publications to publish their works without adequate evaluation. It has harmed the quality of PhD education in India. 
• These publications accept submissions from the vast majority of doctorate candidates. They avoid the time-consuming procedure of sending manuscripts to reputable publications for evaluation and revision. Inadequate scholarship and stipend funds also push students to do so. 
• It also complies with international regulatory requirements to remove a mandatory necessity. 
• The eligibility requirements for admission have changed, and part-time PhD programmes are now available to working professionals.
• The M.Phil programme is discontinued under the new Rules.

Concerns:

• Publishing papers is unquestionably important for every outstanding researcher. The UGC has also stated that it is preferable for researchers to submit articles in high-quality journals for the benefit of their personal advancement. For any post-doctoral chances, it would increase the worth of their PhD. 
• As the value of a researcher and a university is assessed on the basis of papers published and referenced, the elimination of required standards might further erode quality. Such criteria also affect funding.

Way forward:

Place the responsibility for encouraging students to publish their work in required journals on the doctoral supervisors and university research advisory council. Increased funding is urgently required to ensure that the UGC’s decision does not backfire.