From now on, experienced teachers working at self-financing colleges (SFC) under government control can register for PhD in Mahatma Gandhi University without having to qualify the General Aptitude Test.
Varsity officials said a decision to exempt teachers from such institutions with three years continuous teaching experience from the test had been taken on a request from A. Abdul Vahab, general secretary, Self-Financing College Teachers and Staff Association.
“The Vice Chancellor, exercising powers of the Syndicate, under Section 3.10(17) of Mahatma Gandhi University Act 1985, has approved the recommendation of the Syndicate Subcommittee on Research and Development,” says an order, issued by the Assistant Registrar (Academic).
The PhD regulations of 2016 stipulate such exemptions to only regular teachers from government or aided colleges in the State and from the university departments or centres till now. The varsity rules also permit candidates from this category to register as part-time researchers, if they so desire.
Registrar Prakash Kumar B. said those registering for Ph.D from self-financing colleges should complete their course work in six months and may be extended the part-time research option only afterwards.
While the move drew criticism from a section of the teaching community, MGU officials termed it the first step towards inculcating quality among teachers in such institutions.
“The move will result in sharp deterioration in the quality of research as several of the teaching staff at these institutions do not posses the qualification stipulated under the UGC- CSIR norms. This move, a first by any varsity in the State, is intended to countenance the ineligible to the research stream,” a representative of college teachers’ union said.
Admitting that several faculty members in self-financing colleges lacked qualification, MGU Vice Chancellor Sabu Thomas said the varsity would soon forward a proposal to the government seeking to regulate teacher recruitment in such colleges in line with the UGC-CSIR norms.
“Self-financing colleges are a reality and the only option that we have is to raise the quality of teaching in such institutions. With a teaching experience of three years, every person becomes thorough in their respective subject and they no more require to prove their skills by qualifying in the entrance,” he said.