UGC appointed committee to verify faculty appointment, Ph.D. degrees to maintain quality

The UGC will also take action against institutions found violating its regulations regarding appointment of faculty or awarding degree.

In a significant decision to improve quality of higher education institutions, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided collect information regarding faculty appointments and award of Ph.D. degree and verify documents to ascertain whether the process of appointment of teachers and award of Ph.D. degrees are in conformity its UGC Regulations.

The UGC will also take action against institutions found violating its regulations regarding appointment of faculty or awarding degree.

According to UGC Chairman, Prof M. Jagadesh Kumar, UGC’s decision to check violations in the appointment of teachers and award of PhD degrees in Higher educational institutions is subsequent to the Commission’s decision in its 568th Meeting held on 24th April 2023.

He stated that the role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in nurturing intellectuals and imparting knowledge to the nation’s growth is well known. The UGC, with the mandate to promote and coordinate University education, notifies, among other things, regulations to ensure the quality of the teachers and the quality of research degrees from time to time. The quality of higher education, to a large extent, depends on the quality of those who impart it and the way research is promoted.

The UGC has, UGC Regulations on Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education, 2018. It also has University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2022

Both Regulations set the conditions for determining and maintaining standards in selecting candidates for the appointment of teachers and quality of research degrees awarded in HEIs and are mandatory. However, despite the Regulations, complaints from stakeholders about violations of the Regulations mentioned above are not uncommon.

“Subsequent to the Commission’s decision in its 568th Meeting held on 24th April 2023, a Standing Committee to monitor the appointment of teachers and award of Ph.D. degrees in HEIs was constituted. The Committee shall meet at regular intervals, select a few institutions, collect information regarding faculty appointments and award of Ph.D. degrees, verify documents to ascertain whether the process of appointment of teachers and award of Ph.D. degrees are in conformity with UGC Regulations, and recommend appropriate actions, in case of violations,” Prof Kumar said.

He further added that as the regulations prescribe minimum standards required to be maintained by HEIs, any violation of the Regulations results in the inevitable decline of higher education standards. UGC takes such violations very seriously and intends to take appropriate measures to control violations of UGC Regulations.

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