More female students prefer doing PhD at Gujarat University (GU) as against boys, as per the data shared by the varsity.
According to GU's data, of a total of 272 PhDs registered, a total of 149 were girls whereas 124 were boys. However, this trend in GU is contrary to what the data from the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) claims. As per the data by MHRD, 21,000 more males enrolled for their PhD across Gujarat.
The situation at GU is quite different. While the total number of PhDs at GU had fallen in 2014-15 to 180 candidates as against 320 in 2012-13, the total number of female candidates increased.
Interestingly, the number of female candidates, except for two years, has been on an increase. In 2012-13, of 320 candidates, 170 were females whereas in 2014-15, of 180 total candidates, 105 were females.
Speaking about the same, vice chancellor of Gujarat University Dr Himanshu Pandya, said, "All of this has to do with the entrepreneurial culture in the state. Even today, many boys, after graduation join their family business due to which they do not pursue higher education. Whereas girls, even after marriage, prefer to do higher studies. At the university level, earlier there were not many guides for PhD. But now, all 300 teachers across all departments have to guide a PhD student. In the Botany department, we have 54 girls pursuing a PhD, which is higher than the number of boys."
Professor Anil Kumar, Head Librarian at Vikram Sarabhai Library at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad opined that while the number of PhD's across the institutes are increasing, the quality is still a problem. "The quality of any thesis is based upon its review. Due to certain amendments in the PhD programme by the MHRD, an external expert cannot be the guide of the student. While the ministry has done this to bring more transparency, it also has its negative side. Earlier, PhD was also possible externally but now it is not possible," he said.
As per professor Nutan Kotak from GU's English department, girls are more motivated and focussed. She said, "One of the reasons for more number of girls getting into PhD is because these days, one needs to have a PhD to get into university-level teaching. Another reason is that girls overall are more motivated and focussed hence they want to dig deep into a subject."