Hyderabad: Osmania University, since November 21, 2021, has awarded 2,200 PhDs and will soon award 500 more as part of an attempt to pave the way for new enrolments, university officials said.
The issue, at the core, is that scholars and doctoral candidates who enrolled in the early part of the last decade and despite completing a six-year tenure period, were unable to finish their PhDs due to an array of reasons ranging from laxity to lack of progress in research.
The development comes against the backdrop of Vice Chancellor Prof. D. Ravinder spotting the issue and referring it to Prof. Vardhani, the first woman additional controller of examinations (confidential), following which a ‘one-time’ chance was given to scholars to either get their PhDs or have their enrolments cancelled.
Prof. Ravinder said, “We have noticed several scholars who enrolled in the PhD programme completed the six-year tenure but were still on the road to accomplish it… these scholars were barricading the new ones from enrolling. We arranged a standing committee, which systematically offered a ‘one-time’ chance as per the guidelines of the UGC. Most of them utilised this opportunity and those who could not, had their enrolments cancelled.”
Prof. Ravinder said, “Scholars who enrolled in 2011-2013 continued till 2021. This barricaded the new scholars. UGC regulations also insisted to follow the regulations of four years to full time and five years to part-time candidates. Due to various other reasons, the guides were allotted more scholars.” The Vice-Chancellor said notification for new enrolments would be issued by May.
Prof. Vardhani, of the physics department, is the first woman to get the Indira Gandhi National Award among many others, to have presented papers in many countries, got major projects from DRDO and is the only researcher working in the field fo photonics.
She said, “It’s an amazing achievement for the Osmania University, in a short period from November 21, 2021, till date producing 2200 PhDs… in couple of days, another 500 will be receiving their PhDs.”
She said, “There is lot of potential among the scholars.”
