PhD mandatory for Assistant Professor in Universities from July 2021, notifies UGC

NEW DELHI, JUNE 14: Announcing a major shift in the recruitment process in higher education institutions the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has made Ph.D. mandatory for recruitment to the post of Assistant Professor from July 1, 2021.

According to University Grants Commission (UGC), the decision will help improve research activities in Universities. Sharing the information through his official tweeter handle, Prakash Javadekar, Minister of HRD said, “Ph.D Degree shall be the mandatory requirement for direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Professors in University with the effect from July 1, 2021.

However, the minimum eligibility for direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Professors in colleges will continue to be a Master’s degree with NET or Ph.D. This means that in direct recruitment processes candidates without a Ph.D. can only seek teaching opportunity in colleges and NOT in universities.

But in colleges also, “The Ph.D Degree has been made mandatory for promotion to Assistant Professor (Selection Grade) from 01.07.2021,” a notification from HRD ministry read.

Additionally, the UGC has retained the incentives to teachers as provided in the earlier Regulations of 2010. Also the subsequent amendments have been retained which includes incentives for M.Phil/Ph.D.

The MHRD has also replaced Academic Performance Indicators (API) based Performance Based Appraisal System (PBAS) System with a new simplified teacher evaluation grading system where research score is one of the criteria. Also, Promotion criteria under Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) for University teachers have been made more research-oriented while in case of College teachers, CAS criteria is more focused on teaching.

For the first time, provision for promotion in colleges will be up to Professor level and weightages are assigned for CAS in respect of MOOCs and E-Content in Universities and Colleges.

Special provision has also been made for recruitment of Assistant Professors in Universities and Colleges for Ph.D. Degree holders from a University/Institution in the top 500 Global rankings.

The Regulations mandate the introduction of one-month induction programme for newly recruited Assistant Professors in Universities/Colleges/Higher Education Institutions.