CUK wants researchers to focus on 'national priority'

KANNUR: The University of Kerala (CUK) has issued a circular saying that the research topics for PhD should suit be in accordance with the 'national priorities', which has created resentment among the academic circles.

According to a recent circular, the research topics should match the parameters indicated by the Central Universities in the tripartite meeting of the university authorities, Ministry of Human Resources Development and the UGC.
The university authorities, however, failed to define what the national priority is, and the general feeling among researchers is that it would be influenced by political interests and throttle critical thought.

"Such decisions are anti-academic and would help on the corporate forces that want no critical or creative thoughts, and such things would be misused by a groups contending for Hindu State," said Kerala State Higher Education Council vice chairman Rajan Gurukkal, who is an eminent social scientist and critic. Researchers should have creative freedom, he said.

But there is nothing wrong to have national priority in research and preparing a shelf of projects to improve the quality of research, but it should not be politically misused, said B Ekbal eminent academic and former vice-chancellor of the University of Kerala.

"We can have national priorities in all the researches in the frontier areas, but it should take into account the wider interests of the nation, and not narrow politics," he said adding that our researches are yet to address our development crisis.

Authorities justify

According to a circular on March 13 by the university registrar, it was issued after the vice chancellors of all central universities met in Delhi to review the implementation status of all parameter indicated by the central universities in the tripartite MoU they had with the MHRD and the UGC to discourage research in irrelevant areas.

"When fellows are being admitted for PhD, the topics for the thesis should be in accordance with the national priorities," it said.

As per the decision, all head of the Departments have to convene meetings of the faculties and prepare a shelf of projects to be taken for research, considering national priorities and the student can opt from the shelf of projects.

Though the authorities claim this as a move to improve the quality of research, they have not discussed it in the bodies like academic council or dean's committee, according to some faculty members.

"The authorities have not explained what they mean by 'national priority', and how it should be implemented in a spectrum of areas, so we are concerned it could be misused by vested interests," said one source who did not want to be named.

But it is just a suggestion, and there is no hard and fast rule about it or the university will not restrict the freedom of research, said registrar A Radhakrishnan Nair, who only signed in the circular.

"The meeting of the VCs with the President of India was held in December 2018 and we issued the circular after studying all aspects but there is no binding that all researches should be from the shelf of topics," he explained.

Will the narrow political interests pop up in the name of national priority is the question according to the faculty members and research scholars in the university who have many bitter experiences in the past.