UGC in India drops mandatory PhD provision for assistant professors to be recruited

Recently Govt. of India announced to establish a National Research Foundation (NRF) as a funding body for research and development (R&D) in the country. The purpose of this is to provide financial support for scientific research across various disciplines, promote collaboration between academia and industry, and foster innovation. It also emphasized on democratizing the funding allocation  and research funding landscape in India, enhance the quality and quantity of research output, and encourage the pursuit of cutting-edge research [source: weblink].

Now coming back to the latest announcement from UGC about relaxation of primary requirements for the position of Assistant Professor in universities across India [source: weblink].

The decision has baffled me and in this blog, I thought to share certain drawbacks of this move.

1. A PhD is considered the highest academic qualification in a specific field, indicating expertise and depth of knowledge. The degradation in quality and standard of PhD  in India is a different topic and out of scope for this blog. However, this move will further dilute the academic standards in India. There is a risk that candidates with mere SET/NET and without any research experience will be selected as assistant professors, potentially compromising the quality of education and research in universities.
2. Repealing the mandatory PhD provision will create an imbalance among faculty members. A PhD holder will feel undervalued or perceive his/her efforts to attain a higher qualification as wasted. This could potentially lead to demotivation and affect the overall morale within the academic community to pursue PhD. Furthermore, it may create disparities in terms of remuneration and career progression between faculty members with PhDs and those without.
3. It is the PhD holders who are going to foster the research culture in universities. The journey of PhD provides rigorous training in research methodologies, critical analysis and scholarly writing. I am very optimistic that with the recent UGC announcement decline in the research output and quality is expected, as faculty members without PhDs have limited experience and skills in conducting advanced research. This will adversely affect the overall research environment in Indian universities.
4. Often the credibility of a research lab/institute or university is dignified by the presence of faculty members with PhD. This move will undermine the perception of Indian universities, both at national and international level. It also raises questions about the competence and expertise of the faculty, potentially affecting the employability and future prospects of graduates from these institutions.
5. PhD programs not only nurtures the research skills but also provides the mentorship opportunities. Often PhD researchers act as  mentors to guide students and junior faculty members in their research pursuits. Without the mandatory PhD provision, the pool of experienced mentors may shrink, resulting in limited guidance and mentorship for students and early-career academics.
6. The written exams for the Assistant Professor (AP) position primarily focus on the GATE syllabus. However, it is important to note that candidates with a PhD are not expected to have in-depth knowledge of all the core subjects. Instead, they are typically specialized in a specific subject area. This approach provides an advantage to non-PhD candidates, as it increases their chances of being selected for AP positions in Indian universities. Consequently, this may diminish the appeal of pursuing a PhD.
7. One argument on this move could be shortage of candidates with PhD degree. The reality is quite different. In fact, India produces a significant number of PhD holders and majority of  these candidates face challenges in securing  even tenure track positions.
8. It is really unfortunate to see this decision being made considering it is going to impact low-tier universities and not the high-tier universities in India like few IITs/IISc/central universities. Lower-tier universities often face challenges in attracting highly qualified candidates with PhDs due to various factors such as limited resources, lower funding opportunities, and lesser academic prestige compared to top-tier universities. As a result, they tend to have a smaller pool of candidates with PhD qualifications to choose from.

Open questions:

• One might question the rationale behind eliminating mandatory PhD requirements when there is already a surplus of qualified candidates with PhDs.
• Without the PhD requirement for jobs in academia, how will advanced research be conducted to effectively compete with the state of the art?
• Bad news for low-tier universities as this move will widen the gap between high-tier and low-tier universities with respect to the quality and standards of education and research in these institutions.