New Delhi, March 24: In the wake of the massive cut in seats for M.Phil. and Ph.D. aspirants at country's premier Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the teachers' body of JNU has strongly criticized the University Grants Commission for its controversial May 2016 notification regulating admissions in M.Phil. and PhD. courses at central universities in the country.
Acting on the UGC notification, JNU has cut about 86% seats in M.Phil./Ph.D. programs for the academic session 2017-18. It is said that the Academic Council of JNU had approved an intake of 1406 students for M.Phil/Ph.d for the coming academic year, but the JNU administration has brought it down to 194 seats.
Reacting on the UGC regulations, Prof. Ayesha Kidwai, President, JNU Teachers' Association said such regulations would restrict research, rather than encouraging it and JNU would be the biggest sufferer.
In an exclusive interview to IndiaTomorrow.net, Prof. Kidwai said: "The people of India were promised that central universities would be a place where they could study, research, ask questions and think freely. The State was to allow this autonomy....In fact, the aim of these UGC regulations seems to be to restrict research, not to encourage it. And JNU, because of the large numbers of research students it has, is going to end up as being the first guinea pig of it."
JNU has recently won the 'Best University' award from President of India Pranab Mukherjee.
"JNU has shown outstanding performance in all key parameters like quality of students and faculty, training of faculty, citations, publications, research projects, foreign collaborations, seminars and innovation exhibitions," the President had said while presenting the award.
Prof. Kidwai offers figures about research intake that show JNU is far far ahead of other universities.
"The enrollment of Ph.D. students in this country, as per MHRD Report 2014, is just 0.5% of the total enrollments. In central universities, enrollment of Ph.D. students is 3.5%. But at JNU, it is 67%," she said.
"You (Govt) say that you want to increase the gross enrollment ratio to 30% which is right now 22%. You want to increase the enrollment to 30% and you are cutting it down," she said.
In the academic session 2017-18, there are many centers of the varsity where not a single seat has been advertised. There are total 10 schools with 39 centers and 3 special centers at JNU where total 194 seats have been proposed in M.Phil-Ph.D integrated and direct Ph.D programs while in the Academic Council meeting total 1406 seats were proposed. Most of the centers especially under School of Social Sciences (SSS), School of international Studies (SIS) and School of Language Litrature and Culture studies (SSLLC) have not offered even a single seat for M.Phil-PhD integrated and Ph.D. programs.
It's not just centers, but entire schools and special centers will also not be allowed to admit research scholars. The School of Computer & Systems Sciences, School of Computational and Integrative Sciences and School of Biotech-nology have zero intake, along with the Centre for Study of Law and Governance, as well as the Centre for Sanskrit Studies and Centre for Molecular Medicine.
"UGC must not be seen as standing against the premier university of this country or any university. JNU teachers are saying that we want to teach and we want to supervise," said Prof. Kidwai referring to the student-teacher ratio drastically limited by UGC in M.Phil/PhD. programs.
Source: PTI
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