Namumkin is mumkin in GU as part-time candidate submits thesis before mandatory period

Part-time candidate submits thesis before three-year mandatory period; V-C Himanshu Pandya 'surprised', says will look into the matter; academicians raise doubts, say PhD is not a rush job and can't be done so fast

The doctorate attached to the name of the visiting faculty of Master of Social Work, Dr Ranjan Gohil at Gujarat University, has come under cloud on the grounds that she completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Economics in just one-and-a-half years while being a part-time PhD student. The Gujarat University Act, 2018, and University Grants Commission regulations state that three years from the date of registration is the minimum duration after which one can submit the thesis.

The issue became a controversy after activist Chirag Kalal filed an RTI plea in the matter. The RTI reply stated that Dr Gohil registered for the economics PhD programme on February 20, 2017 and received her PhD degree on August 18, 2018. Dr Gohil’s guide for the programme was Dr Pradeep Prajapati, Professor of Economics and Dean of Arts and Commerce in Gujarat University.

The academic circles are abuzz ever since the RTI reply was received over whether a person can indeed finish a PhD programme in a short time span of 18 months. While Dr Gohil and her guide were reluctant to provide satisfactory explanation to sceptics, they insisted that she successfully completed her PhD in the time that she did.

Others in the academia felt that finishing a PhD in such a short time is not heard of, and you can't do justice to your research subject if you hurry through with the PhD. Several PhD scholars found it difficult to explain how a PhD can be done is so short a time.

In Dr Ranjan Gohil case, she was exempted from course work for one semester as she holds a MPhil degree, which is in keeping with rules relating to PhD. But this does not reduce the various other tedious research work a candidate needs to do for the thesis. The Gujarat University PhD Ordinance 2015 states that the "minimum duration of the programme after which the thesis can be submitted by part-time candidates is six semesters (three years)". The GU ordinance also states the "a part-time PhD scholar may submit the Synopsis after a minimum of five terms, and the thesis after a minimum of six terms".

A GU source said, "Dr Ranjan Gohil's PhD in Economics has been falsely acquired. The minimum duration for completing a PhD part-time is 3 years according to the 2015 GU ordinance. It is not possible for anyone to finish research work in time less than that. Gohil's thesis topic is 'Financial and social status of women working in salt industry in Surendranagar district'. This topic will take months of research groundwork."

GU V-C surprised by act of his varsity

Gujarat University Vice-Chancellor Dr Himanshu Pandya said, "We follow UGC rules for PhD admissions and its completion. I am surprised to hear about Dr Ranjan Gohil completing her PhD in one-and-a-half years. I will surely look into the matter."

When Mirror talked to Dr Gohil, she said, "I don't want to comment on this matter."

A PhD programme accords the candidate's guide all major responsibilities such as supervising the research work throughout the period of study. When contacted, Ranjan Gohil's guide Dr Prajapati also declined to comment, saying, "I don't talk to the media anymore. Take the information from the RTI reply. Filing such an RTI plea is itself wrong. It is an attempt to interfere with someone's personal life. In any case, the PhD was not completed in one year."

A PhD guide from Gujarat University told Mirror, "It is difficult to believe Ranjan Gohil finished her PhD thesis in one-and-a-half years, especially because she has opted as a part time candidate. In normal circumstances, before submission of the thesis a candidate has to make a pre-PhD presentation which allows all faculty members and research scholars to give feedback and comments, which may be incorporated in the thesis. This takes time.

"A copy of thesis is also normally sent to external examiners for scrutiny and plagiarism-check. All this takes at least 9-10 months. Besides, how the Research and Development Committee of the university assessed the thesis paper also may have to be looked into. There are by-laws to follow."

So where do other PhD scholars stand on this. Talking to Mirror, Dr Svati Joshi who holds a PhD in English literature, said, "A PhD is something where you engage yourself with the subject in detail and in depth. This requires a lot of field research work, reading and writing on the subject. You need a good deal of time to do justice to your research."

Another scholar, Dr Sunny Thomas, who has done a PhD in Economics, said, "No university will compromise with the quality of research papers submitted to it. In economics, a majority of students take five years. Some also manage it in three years. I think one can't finish a PhD in so short a time as 18 months."