From 840 in 2011-12 to 1,518 in 2014-15 in arts & science
Representational image
Chennai: The number of Ph.Ds produced by arts and science universities in Tamil Nadu has increased from 840 in 2011-12 to 1518 in 2014-15, according to higher education department data.
Pointing out that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has made Ph.D mandatory for a person to become a faculty in universities and colleges, former Madras university Vice-Chancellor S.P. Thyagarajan said that with the requirement to get Ph.D qualification to become a faculty, more students have started to register for research.
"People who are not interested in teaching, now have lot of other avenues like getting into research institutes and they can also continue to do post-doctoral in other universities," he said.
Recalling how UGC had put in several measures to check quality of Ph.D, Thyagarajan said universities conduct entrance test before admitting a student to research (Ph.D). Only students with aptitude to do research get admitted to the programme.
"Universities also check a research student's thesis for plagiarism with a software to ensure that quality original research is done," he added. Former principal of D.G.Vaishnav College, S. Narasimhan, said colleges need to create a mindset among students to do research by generating awareness about the need to do research. This will help increase the number of good quality researchers coming out of institutions.
"We need to have a project based paper in post graduation, which will make students continue research in Ph.D. This will also help increase number of Ph.D registrations in the country on a par with Western countries," he said.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
Next Story
