Degrees of Suffering – Hindu

Typically, formal convocation ceremonies in universities have become a platform for Ph.D. students to express their concerns over recent months. On October 28, while receiving his degree from the 39th convocation of Bharathidasan University, Tiruchi, F. Israel Inbaraj submitted to the Governor-Chancellor R.N. Ravi petition complaining about the treatment of research scientists. The incident caused a stir: after the ceremony, media representatives surrounded Inbaraj in a crowd, trying to find out the details.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Inbaraj, a management scholar from Chennai, said the “total disregard for human rights” on the part of some staff and heads of the university’s research department forced him to write this note. “I applied for a Ph.D. in Human Resources Management in 2017, but was able to complete the degree only six years later. While I have been fortunate enough to have a supportive mentor, there are many others who have been left with nothing in the recent past. I have decided to submit a petition to the Governor-Chancellor to inform him about what is happening to research scientists at the university,” Mr. Inbaraj said.

October 13 Ph.D. A. Prakash. a scholar from Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore, filed a complaint with the Governor during the convocation. “During the viva (voice), some guides advise research scientists to shell out between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh. Some scholars are forced to offer money, food and gold to tour guides after passing an exam,” he said in the letter, highlighting other alleged regulatory violations at the university. “I am tired of seeing the lack of action regarding the exploitation of research scientists by some guides and took advantage of the public forum to express my concerns. Although my action made headlines, there was no change on the ground,” Mr. Prakash said.

But the situation seems to have changed in favor of scientists. This week, the Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu directed the registrars of all universities to take immediate steps to stop harassment of research scholars by their superiors. “An online reporting mechanism can be established so that research scientists can report their grievances and take immediate action to address them,” the note said.

Culture of exploitation

According to the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) report 2020-21, Tamil Nadu had the highest number of Ph.D. scientists (3206) this academic year. Creation of Ph.D. Mandatory senior teaching positions in colleges and universities have led to more students entering research. Interestingly, it was recently reported that the University Grants Commission (UGC) is planning to change the selection rules in favor of candidates who have strong interest in areas such as start-ups, entrepreneurship and industrial collaboration. In other words, earning a Ph.D. may no longer be mandatory for faculty appointments. But unless the UGC makes a definitive statement, the toxicity of the Indian doctoral research scene will continue to grow, observers say.

The relationship between research scientists and their supervisors in Indian universities often appears feudal. Running errands for guides is a common practice among scientific researchers. Ph.D. A scientist from Periyar University in Salem said, “Students who are unable to meet the financial demands of their guide will have to do all the work for them, such as grocery shopping, driving and babysitting. The teacher demanded that the students bring him lunch every day.” The guides help students who meet their requirements publish their papers in scientific journals and defend their dissertations, he added.

Today it is common to expect and give a sovereign of gold. There are guides who require a gold coin for each of the two doctoral committees convened during the course. Sometimes scientists with an approved Ph.D. they can be expected to pay an additional bribe of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh when signing their work, said a management professor from a college affiliated to Anna University. Additionally, there are experts who come for Ph.D. gather with their families and demand freebies, the cost of which again must be borne by the student. “An expert from Chennai came to Coimbatore with his entire family and asked for a tour to Ooty!” said the professor.

Ph.D. A media studies scholar at Madurai Kamaraj University said that in the third year of his research, his supervisor, a senior professor in the department, was having a hard time allowing him to work on his research topic. “I used to work on presentations and collect materials for my guide’s research work. Even when I wanted to take time off to spend time on my research, he clearly refused and asked me to do it after work,” he added.

Silent conspiracy

Prabhu Panneerselvam enrolled for Ph.D. from the Department of Commerce and Financial Studies at Bharathidasan University (2024-2029) and then left due to the problems he faced with his management. Among the things he was allegedly forced to do for her were buying lunch and parking her two-wheeler on a double rack every day. “Some other scientists are treated like slaves and forced to edit her biographical information and prepare citations and presentations for her personal work,” he said. When contacted, the guide denied Mr. Panneerselvam’s allegations. “I thought we had a normal mentor-scientist relationship based on mutual respect. It seems he misunderstood the situation. All our research students are treated like family,” the academician said.

But it seems the need to please the guides has pushed some scientists to their breaking point. In November 2023, Sachin Kumar Jain, a 31-year-old Ph.D. A scientist from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) committed suicide. His brother Bhavesh Jain wrote a six-page letter to IIT director V Kamakoti, alleging that his brother was under “undue pressure” from his Ph.D. guide Ashish Kumar-senator. The professor was suspended from teaching after a commission of inquiry found him responsible for the death of a student.

Another Salem scientist said Ph.D. At Periyar University, students are treated like schoolchildren. “We have to mark attendance in the morning and evening. Research departments should be allowed to operate throughout the day, but here all rooms are locked after 5:15 p.m. students have to do more field work due to limited resources,” the scientist said.

A Coimbatore-based scientist, who was also a syndicate member at Bharathiyar University, blamed the current situation on a system that is “focused on creating work records.” Teachers are burdened with clerical work, especially computerization of educational work. “There is no more teaching or research; the focus is on creating work records. The rat race for publications and attaching additional publications to publications is putting pressure,” he said. However, in rare cases, there are leaders who spend money on their students. “I know one person in Erode who pays fees to his researchers,” he added.

Publishing articles in journals approved by the UGC Consortium on Academic and Research Ethics (UGC-CARE) is a sensitive issue due to its discretionary nature. “Take for example the list of journals in which publication is mandatory in Annexure I of Anna University. Almost all of the journals listed here are publications that require money from scientists, and some of them are questionable. The prestigious Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) journal Vikalpa was not included in the list, but some other random publications were included,” the professor said.

Because faculty performance index depends on the articles published in these journals (as per National Board of Evaluation and Accreditation rules) and the scholars who need them to complete their Ph.D. Of course, the costs of publication are usually borne by the latter. The published article bears the name of the scientific supervisor as the second author. The demand for publications in Scorpus journals is unreasonable for the humanities, researchers say. “Universities have their own list of publications which are not even sanctioned by UGC-CARE, which unnecessarily increases the financial burden of scholars,” the English professor added. The pursuit of publications has created a gray market in which “research paper mills” thrive, printing for a fee. “Today you can find agents looking for a Ph.D. candidates. Some agents in Nagercoil often call me and ask me to accept a scientist, assuring that they will write a dissertation, and all I have to do is confirm it,” said the professor.

Independent researchers (who work without guidance until the dissertation is submitted) are also not in the best position. “There was a case when I submitted a paper online and after a few seconds I received a message that it was accepted without any verification,” said the professor who defended her doctoral dissertation. in 2014, after starting work in 2009. “I decided to pursue an independent Ph.D. because I heard a lot about the toxic research environment, the demands for payment, and the harassment that women scientists face,” she said. However, during the application process and the appointment of a guide at the end of the application process, she had to pay Rs 1.5 lakh to the ‘guide’.

The practice of tour guides accepting gold coins, gifts and money from candidates as a “token of gratitude” is all too common, says T. Veeramani, principal of the Government Women’s College, Coimbatore and former president of the State Government Teachers’ College. Association. An English professor in Coimbatore, who regularly mentors students, notes that colleges are limiting staff pay. “Ph.D. students pay a fee to the college, but no remuneration is paid to the director. Often, an external examiner from an international university will charge $1,500 to review a dissertation. The university allocates only $100, the rest must be paid by the scholarship recipient,” says the professor. Using external examiners increases costs, even if universities are willing to bear the costs. “This is causing fees for Ph.D. programs to skyrocket. Unfortunately, the problem will remain,” said Professor Veeramani.

Lack of integrity

According to scientists, there is no quick solution to this problem. The integrity of the external examiner invariably becomes suspect when he accepts the candidate’s elaborate hospitality. “While deteriorating research quality is not enough, personal corruption is accelerating the decline,” said P.K. Ponnuswamy, former Vice-Chancellor of Madras University and Madurai Kamaraj. “Exploitation has existed for centuries; Perhaps, only the assortment has changed over the years. Unfortunately, corrupt officials have become bolder and are not bothered even by student suicides,” said E. Balagurusamy, former vice-chancellor of Anna University.

According to Professor Balagurusamy, while news headlines focus on the plight of male candidates, the situation of female scientists is more precarious. “Guides are known to demand sexual favors from their female scientists to complete paperwork. Victims’ requests for help often go unheard because women are expected to ‘fit in’ if they want to pursue a degree,” he added.

Professor Balagurusamy, advisor to the Confederation of Private Universities of India, said that fast and loose implementation of the rules will affect the quality of research in the long run. “When guides charge money for everything, they won’t worry about the quality of their scientists’ work. Reputation only matters to honest people,” he said.

(With inputs from R. Krishnamurthy in Coimbatore, P. V. Srividya in Krishnagiri, M. Sabari in Salem and Palanivel Rajan in Madurai.)