“What bothers me most is the quality of Ph.Ds being produced,especially the mad rush to get Ph.Ds. I am appalled to learn that the Ph.Ds are up for sale at some Universities and by some individual Professors. Equally disturbing is the naïveté of candidate’s concept of what it takes to get a Ph.D. Only today, a prospective Ph.D student gave me his vision of dissertation; it is about the size and scope of a term paper in my graduate course at the University of California. This sorry state of affairs is the direct result of the apathy of guides not doing their job. In the US, the emphasis on the process like (course work,comprehensive and qualifying examinations and the like) more or less acts as a safety net. Even if dissertation (the product) turns out to be of average quality, the process guarantees some minimum quality. In India, there is a growing need to put more emphasis on course work because many of the students and new Ph.Ds that I encountered are ill prepared to provide Intellectual Leadership one expects from a Ph.D. A typical Ph.D student in India, it appears is a part time student who spends one hour a day and gets the degree in about three calendar years”.
This critical statement given by Prof Rao Vemuri of University of California, Davis based on his direct interactions with some sections of the Indian academia amply reflects the present state of affairs of Ph.D education in many Indian Universities. It demands a serious debate and discussion for necessary reforms for immediate correction to stop the deterioration in Ph.D quality.Ph.D is not just simply yet another Degree. It is respected in the society because it symbolizes a high level of intellectual and supposedly moral growth of the person. The social standing of Ph.D in Spain is so high that only Ph. D holders,Grandees and Dukes can sit and cover their heads in the presence of the King. Ph.Ds represent the Intellectual Capital which is most important for any country’s growth. One of the main objectives of Post Graduate Education especially Ph.D education is to prepare Intellectual Leaders who will do the ground work to create new paradigms and products for tomorrow. It needs to provide deeper experience in the values, norms and practices of the chosen profession while also developing
the skills, tools and habits of inquiry within a discipline. Hence, in a Ph.D education the quality concerns ought to become much more important than quantity concerns.
The Ph.Ds constitute the intellectual infrastructure and steel frame work of any university/college and they are basically instrumental in the dynamic diversification of courses, updating of curriculum of all branches of knowledge. Presiding over the faculty departments of the universities and colleges and being expert members of all academic bodies like Boards of Studies, Academic Councils, Senates, Syndicates etc, Ph.Ds play a vital role in the vibrant functioning of the institutes.They are the windows through which new winds of knowledge breeze into. They are the expert consultants to relevant industries and thus contribute for industrial funding to the institutes and strengthening of industry institute collaboration. People with substandard and mediocre Ph.Ds obtained through short cut methods, occupying such academic positions will cause greater damage to the discipline,students, institution and country at large.
Hence, a greater care is to be taken to see only quality oriented Ph.Ds are produced in a university. Dr Sanjay Goel HOD, JIIT, Noida made a satirical statement about the majority of the present Ph.Ds. He said: “Unfortunately instead of viewing Ph.D as a means to nurture Five ‘Ps’ i.e Passion, Patience, Perseverance’, Perspective and Purpose a very large number of Ph.D Scholars, Supervisors and Academic Institutions are increasingly approaching it with a mind set focused on three ‘Ds’ i.e Degree, Designation and Dough (Money)”.Sandor Kapatsy, a Hungarian Economist, argued that Intellectual Capital cannot be treated and measured like tangible properties. He proposed a very interesting equation for Intellectual Capital = Knowledge X Effort X Talent X Morality.Absence of any of these four components makes Intellectual Capital ZERO. Viewed in the context of Ph.D work Kapatsy Model lays more stress on effort. Knowledge and Talent depend on accumulated Intellectual Capital of the candidate. Effort and Morality are the only new inputs in the process of getting Ph.D that are under candidate’s control. Hence, both are essential for ensuring required Intellectual growth of Ph.D candidate.With good effort and high academic morality, even Mediocre Knowledge and Talent can create good Intellectual Capital. The increasing tendency to accept low/mediocre effort, as being witnessed in the Indian Scenario, for awarding Ph.D will encourage the growth of a negative academic morality. In such a situation, irrespective of the Knowledge, Talent and Effort, negative academic morality will only enable a creation of negative Intellectual Capital that harms both academics and society. If this issue is left unaddressed for long by the academic community, Ph.D that has been traditionally considered as a reliable and only bench mark of the College/University faculty quality, will fast loose its respect like many other Degrees. The process has already begun.The recent revelation of DRAVIDIAN University admitting thousands of Ph.D students, controversial episodes of Ph.D dmissions of ACHARAYA NAGARJUNA University and RAYALASEEMA University made the people at the helm of affairs in the Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD), and the University Grants Commission (UGC) etc. to turn their heads and give serious thought to this large scale adulteration in the award of Ph.Ds.The unbridled admissions to Ph.D courses by the Universities in the name of off campus and external mode, practice of external guide,allowing Ph.D admissions in the subjects that were not offered by the respective Universities,associating with Private Universities in the name of off campus centers, viewing the Ph.D course as the source of income to the Universities etc. made Ph.D a commercial commodity being sold and purchased in the socalled Intellectual Super Bazaars. This shameful intellectual prostitution, scooping to the level of selling Ph.Ds by some persons and powers that be, only to make quick and huge money imitating some corrupt politicians and bureaucrats with a conviction to make hay while the sun shines, going against all value ethos is causing unexplainable pain to other professors who are on the path of truth and righteousness.
It is in this context we have to see what is to be done to maintain the quality of Ph.D awarded by the various Universities and what is being done in developed countries in this regard, and what efforts are being done by the Regulatory Agencies and Affiliating Universities to maintain and improve the standards in Ph.D Degree and what best practices can be employed to improve our Ph.D program to match Global Standards. It is time for us to consider,reflect, respond, act and to take decisive steps to remove the aberrations and angularities that crept into the spectrum of Ph.D in all aspects like qualifying examination, process of admission, course work, the number of theory papers, marks allotted for theory, duration, rigor and Effort number of credits, hours of work per week, average age of the Ph.D Scholar, scholars maturity of mind the motive of doing Ph.D, the period of funding, language Media for thesis,research paper publications in international journals, seminar presentation, ceiling on the number of Ph.D candidates under a supervisor,panel of adjudicators, insistence on at least one adjudicator from other state or country, process of evaluation, viva, quality concerns, Thesis outcome, drop out in the middle, number of failures in Ph.D etc. All these factors have determining impact on the quality of Ph.D work and they are adequate safeguards in preventing the production of mediocre and bstandard Ph.Ds.The exponential growth of Institutions of HigherEducation especially Universities and Engineering Colleges in India in general and A.P in particular created an exigency for more number of Ph.D holders to be appointed as faculty. Thousands of Ph.Ds in core and noncore subjects is a necessity to these Engineering Colleges to fulfill the stipulations of Regulatory Body AICTE and Affiliating Universities.
As there are no adequate numbers of Ph.D holders the colleges are recruiting mere M.Tech and B.Tech candidates as faculty member in the cadres of Assistant and Associate Professors and in some cases as Professors also. It has become very difficult for the college managements to get the services of Ph.D holders of engineering branch with 15 years of Teaching/Industrial experience to be appointed as Principal. Hence, those candidates who could fulfill AICTE stipulations are demanding/negotiating a pay package and perks costing the college roughly 1.5 lakhs per month besides many other amenities. There were instances where some qualified candidates merely lent their name and charged thousands of rupees as compensation per month and just appeared in the college on the day of inspection or “so-called” surprise visits of teams of Affiliating University or Regulatory Body AICTE.
Due to this compulsion of non-availability of genuine Ph.D holders ready to work as teachers many unfair practices are being adopted by a few college managements and candidates. Some candidates are submitting Ph.D certificates issued by fake Universities/Institutes/Deemed Universities which are not recognised by the UGC, the top most national body to vouchsafe for the authenticity of existence and working of institutes of higher learning. Unabated proliferation of unrecognised Vidyalayas is further aggravating problem of identifying genuine Ph.D holders. Ph.D Degrees awarded by some foreign private universities, self assumed centers of excellence and community colleges are making matters worse. Some Private Universities in the US are well-known for their standards and quality education.Hence, we cannot fully condemn Ph.Ds awarded by all Private Universities as some of them strictly follow the norms of standards and quality.
To tackle this sensitive issue connected with Intellectuals and Reputed Scholars the Government of Andhra Pradesh appointed a committee consisting of the Chairman of AP State Council of Higher Education Dr PJayaprakash Rao, Former Vice Chancellor of SV University, Prof Ram Murthy, Former Director of Regional Centre for Urban and EnvironmentalStudies, Osmania University, Dr Ravindra Prasad and Former Registrar of Andhra University DrP.V.S Ramarao. The Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, constituted an institute level committee to overhaul the way of Ph.D students training and to study various academic programs offered by top 15 Universities globally and identify their best practices. The State Council of Higher Education, Karnataka, prepared new Ph.D norms which will be
applicable for all State Universities. The University Grants Commission, New Delhi issued an order asking research students to submit at least one copy of Ph.D thesis in English, expect those in language subjects.
In India, so far the main employer of Ph.Ds was the University System. There was hardly any feedback about the quality of Indian Ph.D from the Industry. The absence of feedback created an atmosphere of complacency with reference to quality of Ph.Ds. Added to general demand of Ph.Ds, the faculty’s own internal requirement made many Universities increase the Ph.D production without necessarily being sufficiently cautious about the quality bench marks. The simplistic criterion of publishing two or three papers in some Journal/Conference proceedings, even very short papers at substandard conferences / Journals is considered sufficient to submit the Ph.D thesis.
In India, a new trend is emerging. The R&D Services Industry is fast growing and has reached $ 10 billion mark. There are over 300 captive engineering R&D facilities employing 85,000 engineers. NASSCOM forecasts that this industry will reach $ 24 billion by 2015 and possibly $ 45 billion by 2020. It is expected that India will capture 40% share of Global offshore revenues in 11 verticals of Engineering R & D Services –Aerospace, Automotives, Telecom, Semiconductors, Computing Systems, Consumer Electronics, Medical Devices, Energy, Infrastructure, Industrial Automation, Construction and Heavy Machinery. Indian Universities are expected to play an active and constructive role to support and accelerate the growth of Indian R&D Industry.For that the Universities should take responsibility to prepare high quality masters and Ph.Ds suitable to the Industry. As of today,a few Indian Universities and Institutes have recognised this opportunity. The R&D Services Industry will take its manpower requirements from such select few Institutes and from Western Universities. Unless many other Indian
Universities rise to the occasion to grab the opportunity the national dream to see India as Knowledge Super Power cannot be realised.
In developed economies very large numbers of Ph.D Graduates join the industry. For example, in the US, in some disciplines Eg: Psychology, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering etc. 70-80% Ph.Ds and more than 50% in Computer Science join the Industry. Forty six per cent of Ph.Ds in Chemical Engineering from 6 Australian Universities joined Private Industry. Nearly 40% of Engineering Ph.Ds in NORWAY have Industrial Collaboration. Signs of such similar opportunities are being opened up for Ph.Ds in India in addition to their requirement in huge number in Academics.
For high quality education, rigour and effort are most essential inputs. European Universities require 180 credits for completing Ph.D work which is three times credit requirements of a Masters Degree. One credit is equivalent to 25- 30 hours of work. Hence, the Ph.D requires 4500 - 5400 hours of work. The Bologna process fixes the normal duration for a doctorate as 3 to 4 years for full time study. European Universities require a minimum of six years of work for a part time candidate. A survey of 200 Ph.D students of YORK University, Canada, showed that six years was the average time to complete the Degree. At good US Universities it normally takes 4 to 5 years of work for fulltime scholars
to complete Ph.D work. The study of Ph.D students at Rutgers University showed that the mean time for the completion of Degree requirement for students who spent 52 hours of per week for their Ph.D studies is 4 to 5 years. This was found to be 6 to 7 years for those who spent 44 hours per week.
Prof Sartaj Sahni of University of Florida indicated that for full time students it takes around 5 years of regular work to complete the Ph.D work. The demanding Guides/Supervisors make the Ph.D candidates to work for 60 to 70 hours per week. Prof Rao Vemuri University of California, Davis said that he had supervised two part time Ph.D candidates and both took around 8 years for completing the required work.
Prof Bhattacharya who supervised more than 30 Ph.Ds at IIT Delhi told that these students took 5 to 7 years to complete their degree and more than 80% joined Industry after completing their Ph.D as they were full-time research staff of Funded Projects. Whereas Ph.D ordinance in many Universities in India normally expect the candidates to complete Ph.D work in 2 to 5 years even for part time candidates. The Government gives scholarships for fulltime scholars for 5 years to the candidates from B.Tech stream with GATE/NET. The fulltime Ph.D candidates with M.E/M.Tech get higher scholarship for 4 years. Financial Support System of Government of India expects 4 to 5 years of work for fulltime candidates after Master’s degree. The duration is bit higher for part time candidates. The average age of part time Ph.D scholars in India is in between 25-30 years but in developed countries like U.K they register for Ph.D after some years of work experience. Their average age at the start of Ph.D registration is above 38 years which is ten years higher than the respective age of full time candidates in India. Not being able to withstand the norms of rigour and effort, majority scholars leave their pursuit of Ph.D in the middle and some do not qualify for the Ph.D. In Spain, 10% of Ph.D candidates are finally granted degree.
In the US around 50% do not complete the degree. In India, part time Ph.D scholars usually work as fulltime faculty members at the same university or some other college. Their main motivation is to improve their prospects in their academic career. In UK and other developed countries, the research is being done by the researchers mainly motivated by interest in the subject rather than to improve their career prospects. In India, a typical young faculty member (25-35 years) also pursues part time Ph.D has to devote at least 35-40 hours per week for their teaching and administrative responsibilities. Most of them are married and have their parental responsibilities too. The home responsibilities become even more demanding for married women especially mothers. Hence, part time Ph.D candidates are not in position to spend more than 10-20 hours per week for their Ph.D work. Naturally they cannot produce high quality research before 6-10 years of work as part time Ph.D scholars.Indian Universities, Supervisors, Research Committee Members, Examiners and even Ph.D candidates should seriously consider whether it is appropriate for them to expect and encourage the completion of required work for Ph.D within two or three years of duration. Such expectation and trends lead to a culture of Mediocrity and lower the bench marks and ultimately thwart the efforts to improve the quality of Under Graduate and Post Graduate levels of Education. The recommendations of the committees constituted in A.P, Karnataka, UGC and IIT Mumbai to revamp the Ph.D education in India have suggested the number of days required to complete the Ph.Ds. The UGC has made it mandatory to submit at least one copy of the Ph.D thesis in English except those in language subjects to enable a foreign/other state examiner to evaluate the thesis. The commission also ordered that one of the examiners must be from outside the state where a research scholar is pursuing her/his Ph.D. The State Council of Higher Education in Karnataka has prepared common Ph.D norms applicable for all the state universities. They introduced six-month course work, clearing three theory papers and an interview with100 marks for each theory paper and 50 marks for viva-voce. The theory papers cover research methodology, core subject paper and field of specialization. They also introduced minimum and maximum time limit to complete Ph.D.A candidate registering for Ph.D needs to submit the thesis after three years and before five years. The thesis will be on the website to rule out Plagiarism. There will be a doctoral committee to conduct pre-registration and presubmission of thesis collegiums for each candidate. And the candidate should have
published at least two research papers in journal of repute before becoming eligible to submit the thesis. Both the adjudicators shall recommend the award of degree to enable the scholars to face Ph.D viva.
The IIT Mumbai committee felt that though students have good ideas, some are not able to continue as they lack required technical and writing skills to approach research problems. It resolved to conduct special Ph.D level courses to draw clues from the best practices at top universities. While drawing specific Ph.D programs for IITB students it proposed to consider honors course on technical skills and ethics for thesis writing on the lines of Illionious State University and Purdue University and also courses on public speaking, report writing and press conference as followed in Harward Kennedy School. They are to identify Ph.D level course work relevant to a particular research, ways to train the students in presentation, documentation and video tapping the presentations etc. They wish to focus more on thesis writing as it is a critical component of any Ph.D program and ready to review the methods being followed currently and recommend changes required to ensure all students can write a good thesis. The A.P committee recommended that uncontrolled admissions in huge number would be put to an end. They also recommended halting off campus admissions and external guide practice, not to allow Ph.D admissions in the subjects that were not offered by the respective universities. The committee studied the pattern of Ph.D admissions course work, evaluation adopted in the universities like Hyderabad Central University, Pune University etc only with an idea to ensure that the Ph.D earned by the student has some value in the market.
In addition to these changes, MHRD, being an apex agency through its regulatory bodies should take stringent action against those guides who are joining hands with some Ph.D seekers for financial gain at the same time incentive schemes to encourage outcome based quality research are to be worked out with the active collaboration of industry. Some remissions in the weekly workload should be provided to part time Ph.D scholars working full time in a university/college. The process of quality review and progress in research with a structured questioner detailing all parameters is to be implemented. Some kind of grading for Ph.D should also be introduced. The indifference and lethargy on
the part of some scholars should be identified in the early stages and the progress of research should be connected to financial funding received by the scholar. The large percentage of withdrawals in the middle and the noncompletion of the Ph.D work are leading to unnecessary wastage of funds. Such scholars are to be discontinued for the optimum use of funds granted by giving the same to new and interested scholars. (The author is Dean, SLC’s INSTITUTE OF ENGG & TECHNOLOGY)