PhD Or Not? The Class Is Divided

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has recently issued a new directive, stating that candidates applying for the position of assistant professor in universities and colleges are no longer required to have a doctorate for this entry-level role.

In a significant policy change, the UGC has reversed its previous decision and now mandates that examinations like the National Eligibility Test (NET), State Eligibility Test (SET) and State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) will serve as the necessary criteria for the appointment of assistant professors in all universities and colleges.

BW Education spoke to a number of faculty and PhD students representing different national universities about what they think about this change in the criteria of appointment brought about by the UGC. 

“It is not a business of UGC to decide the criteria of appointment for such posts in universities and colleges. All the institutions should be free and independent to decide their own criteria for hiring deserving candidates,” says Apoorvanand, Author and Professor, Department of Hindi, Delhi University. “This is not a new thing but has been in practice for a long time in prestigious institutions across the world,” he added.

He believes that PhD should be essential for the appointment of Assistant Professors because one needs a good research and academic background to mentor students at colleges. This decision will definitely affect the teaching quality at institutions.

He advises students to not do PhD only for getting a job but to excel in the field of research. He also finds the interview process as 'flawed' and raises a question - how can you decide someone’s eligibility through a few minutes of interview. 

Criticising the UGC decision, Sachin Narayanan, Professor, Dayal Singh College, Delhi University, says, “The inability of the UGC to maintain a standard requirement is indicative of what ails Indian Higher Education. Sometimes, the policy change denotes that there is a shortage of eligible candidates but when a higher requirement is notified is it because there is then a surplus of candidates? The truth is not so as there are many lakhs of positions lying vacant in our Higher Education Institutes in open as well as reservation categories. The spate of reversals creates uncertainty.” 

“There is unemployment and under-employment in higher education and going by the track record this move is only a half-hearted attempt to deflect a much-needed honest corrective,” he added. 

M Zaki Kirmani, Author, Researcher and Director, Averroes Academy, Aligarh, identifies the decision as the most unfortunate policy change. He said, “It is going to have far-reaching consequences for the future of our country. With such policy change, how can India think of becoming a world power? Our capable minds will not find the options available in the country attractive enough and will search for newer pastures.” 

Kirmani shares that universities are identified more with research performance than teaching. Higher the quality of research output, the higher the academic ranking of the university. On the other hand, colleges are identified more with teaching, though there too a change is happening.

He adds that if the non-PhDs enters the university faculty, not only will the research output go down drastically, the non-PhD teachers will not be able to impart research orientation to the students and will end up producing such an educated lot which will only consume knowledge rather than producing it, which the PhDs are trained for. Universities produce new knowledge through research and develop research acumen among students, which does the same on their turn.

When the number of faculty holding doctorates will go down, there will be limited research and universities will be hotbeds of internal politics for promotion. 

What do PhD students think about it?

Ejazul Haque, PhD student, Department of Hindi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, tells BW Education that removing the mandatory requirement for research in higher education will undermine its quality. He observes, “Students will no longer take research seriously, impacting their rationality and understanding of both sides of a problem. Higher education aims to foster rationality and scientific consciousness, but without teachers engaging in research, their perspectives become one-sided. Consequently, students will adopt this limited viewpoint. Thus, a PhD qualification is crucial for higher education.”

“The recent abolition of the MPhil degree has also diminished the quality of PhD programmes. MPhil research experience is invaluable and PhD experience enhances rationality. Rationality is vital for higher education,” he adds. 

On the other hand, Abdul Majid, PhD student, Department of Urdu, Jamia Millia Islamia, finds the decision a good step by UGC. He says, “UGC’s decision is welcomed by master's students and it's a good sign for job opportunities as well. Now, it will attract a significant number of students to postgraduate learning. PhD takes up at least five years, and that puts pressure on middle-class students. As a result, the decision will reduce the pressure on those who want to enrol in higher education.” 

He further says that the UGC ought to split the decision into two separate components. One, MA plus NET should be enough to become an assistant professor, but it should be limited to colleges only. It will help colleges to function properly. 

Two, to become an assistant professor at a university, a doctorate should be compulsory to maintain the quality of higher education. If not, universities will no longer play a role in the academic landscape, he adds. 

But in the end, one concern remains unresolved. If the UGC says all MA students are eligible for the post of assistant professor then why have the seats not been increased? How will master’s students compete for a limited number of seats?