Alleging
large-scale irregularities in the award of doctorates, the rank holders
of UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) have urged universities and
colleges to end the practice of appointing PhD holders without
NET qualification as teachers.
The
UGC has prescribed NET as the qualification for teacher appointments.
However, PhD holders are exempted from it. “The state Higher Education
Department had issued an order exempting researchers without proper
coursework from NET qualification. This is a blatant violation of UGC
regulations on teachers’ appointments,” said P Sreejith of UGC Qualified
Group - an association of UGC NET rank holders.
The
UGC Qualified Group has written to the Governor urging him to revoke
the government order which stated that all candidates who obtained PhD
on or before 10-7-2009 and who have registered before this period for
PhD can be exempted from NET qualification. “We are basically opposed to
the way in which weightage is given to PhD holders for publication of
research papers in reputed journals.
Usually
such papers are ghost written by research guides. Therefore, giving
weightage for such a malpractice cannot be justified,” he said. “Giving
weightage to PhD holders for published research material puts NET
qualified candidates at a disadvantage. Besides, more and more people
are misusing PhD as a way to get relaxation from NET qualification,” the
UGC Qualified Group alleged.
Since
NET is generally accepted as a benchmark for the aptitude in teaching
and research, diluting it for undeserving PhD holders will only lead to
the deterioration of the standards of higher education, Sreejith said.
The PSC does not give weightage to candidates who only have PhD.
However,
when it comes to appointment in aided colleges, this category is given
undue preference. The UGC Qualified Group urged the Universities and
colleges to give first preference to candidates who have both NET and
PhD qualifications.
If the candidate has either NET or PhD, it should be considered as a basic qualification for appointment in aided colleges.
