Newly-recruited guest faculty with qualifications for PhD guideship find themselves stranded in T.N. govt. colleges

Newly-recruited guest faculty with qualifications for PhD guideship find themselves stranded in T.N. govt. colleges

January 17, 2024 09:02 pm | Updated 09:02 pm IST

THE HINDU BUREAU

In the absence of research departments, Government arts and science colleges in the rural parts of Tamil Nadu that function only with undergraduate (UG) and limited postgraduate (PG) departments find themselves in a spot since the newly-recruited guest faculty with necessary qualifications for PhD guideship are not permitted to exercise their privilege anymore.

After taking up the job as guest faculty in the Government arts and science colleges, they find themselves stranded, in view of the UGC stipulation that the guideship for faculty is possible only through PG departments that are recognised as research centres. The guidelines specify that only professors of colleges offering PG degree courses and recognised as a research centre, can act as guides.

A good number of the qualified guest faculty who had earlier been teaching in self-financed arts and science colleges with research centres, in their capacity as Assistant Professors, could guide up to four PhD candidates.

Remotely-located government colleges affiliated to Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, are understood to have sought a remedy for the issue.

Government colleges with more number of guest faculty are understood to have applied to the university seeking research centre status to their departments.

“Once the university accords recognition to a PG department as a research centre, it will be easy for us to secure the mandatory recognition from the Directorate of Collegiate Education,” a principal of one such government college with only UG departments said.

While on the one hand, the UGC requires colleges to abide by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 that envisages promotion of quality research within the Higher Education system on the premise that research and innovation are important aspects to enhance quality education, the issue of denial of opportunities for rural students to pursue Ph.D. due to the stalemate has cropped up on the other, said a principal of a government college in a rural location.

“The establishment of Research and Development Cell in higher education institutions will enable attainment of targets of Atma-Nirbhar Bharat and is expected to play a pivotal role in catalysing multidisciplinary/ transdisciplinary and translational research culture mandated in NEP 2020,” the UGC guidelines on research guideship states.

“The university is seized of the issue, and the matter will soon be represented to the Higher Education Department,” Member of V-C Committee F. X. Lovelina Little Flower, said.