UGC scraping mandatory research paper publication for PhD not to be taken seriously: AIOBCSA

NEW DELHI: Demanding the government to provide more financial assistance to OBC, SC, ST, the All India OBC Students Association (AIOBCSA) has urged the backward class PhD aspirants to work on producing quality research papers. The statement comes after the University Grants Commission (UGC) recently revoked mandatory publication of research papers to obtain a PhD.

PhD scholars had to present two research papers at conferences or seminars and publish at least one paper in a refereed journal prior to submitting their thesis. This guideline has been removed by the UGC.

“OBC, SC and ST PhD aspirants who want to build their careers in the academic field, must not seriously take note of recent UGC Notification allowing award of PhD without quality publication. Technically, this move will not give any relief to students of marginalized communities as there are 2 marks for each quality publication (up to 5 publications) for applying for the Assistant Professor job. Though it is not mandatory, many universities are shortlisting candidates based on higher score,” the OBC students’ group requested.

“When the entire academic world is thriving for quality publications in reputed journals, any efforts to undermine publishing quality publications will only hamper future of PhD holders. We need to take continuous inspiration from Jyotirao Phule, Savitribai Phule and Dr BR Ambedkar in producing quality academic works that can make a mark in the chosen field,” AIOBCSA said in a statement.

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“We must demand the Government of India to provide more financial assistance and demand to build proper safeguards for bringing inclusiveness in all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).” It also requested the Government of India to send a greater number of SC, ST and OBC PhD aspirants to best universities across the country by providing scholarships and fellowships.

The draft UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of PhD Degree) Regulations, 2022 proposed in March stated that 60% of the total seats for PhDs be filled by National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) or Junior Research Fellowship (JRF)-qualified students and the remaining 40% through the entrance test conducted by universities. The draft guidelines proposed discontinuation of MPhil degree.