08-15-2009, 06:11 AM
Shapes of things to come for certain US DL PhD programs?
No PhD, MPhil at open universities, says UGC
No PhD, MPhil at open universities, says UGC
Quote:Kaustubh Kulkarni / Pune August 10, 2009, 0:44 IST
...Pointing out the declining quality of research projects in a "distance learning" system, UGC has stopped registration for PhD and MPhil programmes at all the 14 open universities, including the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).
This has sparked angry reactions from academics and students attached to open universities who believe the "declining quality of research" is a national concern and not confined to open universities.
Three years back, UGC had announced that degrees like MPhil and PhD would be considered as an option to the National Eligibility Test (NET) or State Eligibility Test (SET) for recruitment of full-time teachers at colleges. After this announcement, thousands of students registered for MPhil and PhD programmes at open universities. So it has come as a surprise that UGC has not only revoked this decision but also banned research projects at open universities. A notice to this effect has been put up on UGC"s website.
Speaking to Business Standard over the phone from New Delhi, a top UGC official said: "We expect research projects to be taken very seriously and that seems difficult in a distance learning system. A research fellow needs to be in regular touch with the guide and library and therefore we have decided that open universities cannot conduct MPhil and PhD programmes. Open universities allow research in arts, commerce and management streams and not in science. Over the years, we have observed a continuous decline in the quality of research projects at these universities."...