5-yr bar on PhD admissions at Raj univ; ‘high enrolment’ complaints

5-yr bar on PhD admissions at Raj univ; ‘high enrolment’ complaints

Yogita.Rao@timesofindia.com 15.02.2025

Mumbai : A university in Rajasthan, popular among Mumbai college teachers for securing PhDs, has been debarred by the University Grants Commission (UGC) from enrolling students in their PhD programmes for the next five years, starting 2025-26. Shri Jagdish prasad Jhabarmal Tibrewala University (JJTU) has also been asked to discontinue enrolling PhD students immediately. The private university from Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu is governed by laws of the Rajasthan state govt and was founded by Mumbai-based Shri Rajasthani Seva Sangh in 2009. 

The trust, which runs schools and colleges in Andheri, plans to appeal. One of the complaints against the university is they “awarded an unusually high number of PhDs during the period from 2016 to 2020”. The university awarded 1,830 PhD degrees in this period and 408 in 20-20. Another complaint alleged it appoints outside faculty as PhD guides. Teachers said several of its PhD guides earlier were from Mumbai colleges. 

The debarment notice came two days ago following the recommendation of UGC’s standing committee, which found that JJTU did not follow provisions of the commission’s PhD regulations. The university was given an opportunity to explain why it failed to comply with provisions of the UGC PhD regulations; however, the responses received from JJTU were not found satisfactory’. The  committee constituted to monitor whether universities are following the procedure and awarding PhD regulations is also to suggest corrective measures and recommend action to be taken against erring universities. A trustee, though, said there is always misconception about private universities. 

“The UGC has never capped the total number of students who enrol in PhD programmes; what it mentions is the research scholar per guide ratio, which is four for assistant professor, six for associate professor, and eight for professor. JJTU has been adhering to this norm. The only oversight on our part is that we did not submit the Rajasthan govt-appointed committee’s report from 2023 in the submissions to the UGC. The committee was given the list of guides from outside the university along with the in-house ones, and they raised no objection to the appointment of outside faculty,” said the trustee, adding they would submit the committee’s report and appeal to the UGC to reconsider the ban in the coming week. 

The Rajasthan govt set up the committee in 2023 after receiving complaints against the university for appointing higher numbers of PhD guides from outside the university, which was against UGC norms. The committee closed the complaints after an inquiry. JJTU is sought by aspiring college teachers and even those seeking promotions or better placement. 

A senior teacher said the university rose to popularity as there is higher demand from aspirants in Mumbai colleges. “Earlier, Mumbai University’s selection process and approvals from the research and recognition committees (RRC) used to take a longer time, and there were fewer guides for commerce subjects, and JJTU was seen as an easier alternative,” said the teacher, adding the university claims to follow all UGC norms. PhDs from JJTU, on some occasions, were not considered for Maharashtra’s career advancement schemes, said a Mumbai University official.

Periyar University accused of imposing New Education Policy for Ph.D. admissions

Periyar University accused of imposing New Education Policy for Ph.D. admissions

The SFI and Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam have alleged that the Periyar University administration was imposing New Education Policy, without the Tamil Nadu Government’s consent.

M. Sabari  04.02.2025

Salem

The Students Federation of India (SFI) and Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam (DVK) have accused the Periyar University administration of imposing New Education Policy (NEP), and demanded to cancel the regulations issued for Ph.D. admission.

According to the faculty attached to Periyar University, the varsity had recently issued regulations for Ph.D. for students who joined after July 1, 2024, in compliance with University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations 2022. In that regulation, the university has mentioned the eligibility criteria for Ph.D. as a pass in Class X, Plus-Two, UG and PG, (10+2+3+2) or 10th, PUC, UG and PG, or 10th, three-year diploma, UG and PG, or 10th, Plus-Two, and five-year integratedprogramme, 10th, Plus Two, four-year UG and PG, or 10th, plus two, and four-year UG degree (10+2+4) as per UGC guidelines.

Meanwhile, SFI and DVK have raised objections to adding the qualification 10+2+4 for Ph.D., alleging that this was in the New Education Policy that a candidate shall join Ph.D. without completing PG, if he or she passed the four-year UG Programme.

DVK president Kolathur Mani alleged that admitting candidates without PG degree was indirectly implementing the Union Government’s NEP. While the Tamil Nadu government did not give its consent to implement the NEP, the Periyar University administration is trying to implement it. The Tamil Nadu government should oppose the University’s move and take steps to cancel these regulations issued by the university. The government should ensure the old regulations are followed for Ph.D admission, Mr. Mani added.

The SFI district secretary, S. Pavithran, said that the Periyar University had purposely issued these regulations to divert the various issues against the administration. If these regulations are implemented, it will be like accepting the 16 years of education qualification for a Ph.D., as per NEP. The government should take action against the officials who released these regulations.

Officialsattached to Periyar Universityhave denied these allegations.

Periyar University Vice-Chancellor R. Jagannathan was not available for comments.

From first breath: Male and female brains really do differ at birth

From first breath: Male and female brains really do differ at birth

By StudyFinds Staff

Reviewed by Steve Fink

Research led by Yumnah Khan, Autism Research Centre

Jan 07, 2025

Fact CheckedVerified

(Credit: © Katrina Trninich | Dreamstime.com)

Largest study of its kind reveals boys have greater brain volume while girls have more gray matter.

CAMBRIDGE, England — The age-old debate about differences between male and female brains has taken a dramatic turn with new evidence suggesting these variations begin before a baby’s first cry. In the largest study of its kind, researchers at Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre have discovered that structural brain differences between the sexes don’t gradually emerge through childhood — they’re already established at birth.

Brain development during the first few weeks of life occurs at a remarkably rapid pace, making this period particularly crucial for understanding how sex differences in the brain emerge and evolve. Previous research has primarily focused on older infants, children, and adults, leaving a significant gap in our understanding of the earliest stages of brain development.

The research team analyzed brain scans of 514 newborns (236 females and 278 males) aged 0-28 days using data from the developing Human Connectome Project. The study, published in the journal Biology of Sex Differences, represents one of the largest and most comprehensive investigations of sex differences in neonatal brain structure to date, addressing a common limitation of past research: small sample sizes.

Male newborns showed larger overall brain volumes compared to females, even after accounting for differences in birth weight. This finding was particularly significant because the research team carefully controlled for body size differences between sexes, a factor that has complicated previous studies in this field.

New research reveals how babies’ brains show some developmental differences before at birth. (© unlimit3d – stock.adobe.com)

When controlling for total brain volume, female babies exhibited greater amounts of gray matter — the outer brain tissue containing nerve cell bodies and dendrites responsible for processing and interpreting information, such as sensation, perception, learning, speech, and cognition. Meanwhile, male infants had higher volumes of white matter, which consists of long nerve fibers (axons) that connect different brain regions together.

“Our study settles an age-old question of whether male and female brains differ at birth,” says lead author Yumnah Khan, a PhD student at the Autism Research Centre, in a statement. “We know there are differences in the brains of older children and adults, but our findings show that they are already present in the earliest days of life.”

Several specific brain regions showed notable differences between males and females. Female newborns had larger volumes in areas related to memory and emotional regulation, while male infants showed greater volume in regions involved in sensory processing and motor control.

Dr. Alex Tsompanidis, who supervised the study, emphasizes its methodological rigor: “This is the largest such study to date, and we took additional factors into account, such as birth weight, to ensure that these differences are specific to the brain and not due to general size differences between the sexes.”

The research team is now investigating potential prenatal factors that might contribute to these differences. “To understand why males and females show differences in their relative grey and white matter volume, we are now studying the conditions of the prenatal environment, using population birth records, as well as in vitro cellular models of the developing brain,” explains Dr. Tsompanidis.

Importantly, the researchers stress that these findings represent group averages rather than individual characteristics.

“The differences we see do not apply to all males or all females, but are only seen when you compare groups of males and females together,” says Dr. Carrie Allison, Deputy Director of the Autism Research Centre. “There is a lot of variation within, and a lot of overlap between, each group.”

These findings mark a significant step forward in understanding early brain development, while raising new questions about the role of prenatal factors in shaping neurological differences. The research team’s ongoing investigations into prenatal conditions and cellular models may soon provide even more insights into how these sex-based variations emerge.

“These differences do not imply the brains of males and females are better or worse. It’s just one example of neurodiversity,” says Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, Director of the Autism Research Centre. “This research may be helpful in understanding other kinds of neurodiversity, such as the brain in children who are later diagnosed as autistic, since this is diagnosed more often in males.”

ICMR develops draft list of tests must at health facilities

ICMR develops  draft list of tests must at health facilities

DurgeshNandan.Jha@timesofindia.com 02.01.2025

New Delhi : What are the minimum number and type of tests that should be available in a health facility? The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has developed one such list that would soon act as a guide for all health facilities run by the govt — from village-level health centres and Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAM) to district hospitals. 

Called the National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL), the draft of which has been put out in the public domain for stakeholder comments, suggests that even village-level health facilities should have at least nine types of diagnostic tests available. These include tests for diabetes, malaria, TB, HIV and syphilis. At Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, the draft guidelines suggest that testing for Hepatitis B should be available in addition to the basic tests that are also available at village-level health facilities. Moving up in the hierarchy of health facilities are primary health centres (PHCs). The ICMR draft gui delines suggest that PHCs should have diagnostic tests available for all common illnesses, including dengue, Japanese Encephalitis and scrub typhus. At PHCs, the ICMR guidelines add that Xray and ECG machines should also be available. 

The proposed guidelines mandate availability of CT scan, MRI, mammography, and echocardiography at districtlevel health facilities. “The proposed guidelines are much needed, for timely diagnosis and treatment of illnesses. Currently, many health facilities being run in rural areas do not have even basic diagnostic facilities due to which people have to travel far to higher centres, where there is long waiting time, leading to the loss of crucial time in diagnosis and initiation of treatment. It can prove fatal in some cases,” an expert said. The ICMR released the first National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL) in 2019 to make diagnostics an essential component of the healthcare system. Officials said the new guidelines are a revised version of the NEDL, incorporating inputs from relevant stakeholders and feedback from multiple consultation meetings. The draft of the second NEDL reflects advancements made in recent years, an official said.