A faculty member appointed against a permanent post in a university can guide PhD students during their probation period, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has clarified amid complaints that universities were allotting supervisory roles to only senior faculty.
Manish R. Joshi, secretary of the UGC, has issued a public notice saying the decision was taken at a meeting in January. “Eligible permanent faculty members can guide PhD scholars during their probation period also. All the Universities are requested to comply with above said decision of the Commission,” the notice said.
The UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of PhD Degrees) Regulations lay down the rules for admission and conduct of PhD courses in universities. According to the regulations, permanent faculty members working as professors, associate professors and assistant professors who possess a PhD degree and have their research published in peer-reviewed journals will be recognised as research supervisors.
However, each university implements the rules in its own way. Senior faculty members are mainly given preference when it comes to supervising research scholars, the vice-chancellor of a central university and a faculty member of Delhi University said.
When a faculty member joins a department, he or she serves a probation period of one or two years.
The notice said the UGC had received queries from individual faculty members and universities seeking clarification on the eligibility criteria for guiding PhD scholars.
Rajesh Jha, a teacher of Rajdhani College under DU, said the UGC’s clarification would help younger faculty members contribute to research and opt for smooth career progression. “In several universities, the departmental research committee (DRC) does not allow young faculty members to guide PhD students,” Jha said.
He said guiding a research scholar was an essential qualification for an assistant professor to become an associate professor through direct appointment. Jha said that in many cases teachers were joining after long ad hoc and contract experience. If they are made to wait till confirmation for guiding, it will further delay promotions, he said.
