Jawaharlal Nehru University on Friday adopted new rules for research courses that waive the requirement for publication before the award of PhD degrees. Under earlier regulations, a PhD scholar needed to publish at least one research paper in a refereed journal and make two paper presentations at conferences or seminars before submitting the dissertation or thesis for adjudication.

Last November, higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) issued the Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of PhD Degree Regulations 2022, scrapping the need for publication. It advised all universities to implement the new rules.

JNU became one of the first universities to adopt the new regulations when a meeting of its academic council, chaired by vice-chancellor Santishree Pandit, approved them. Several academics expressed concern, with a JNU teacher saying the new rules would work against India becoming a “Vishwa Guru” -- the NDA government’s slogan portraying India as a future knowledge hub for the world.

“When a scholar finishes their research, the world should know about it. It was possible through publication, in addition to presentations at conferences,” the teacher said, seeking anonymity. “Now the university will merely send a copy of the thesis to Inflibnet (the UGC’s Information and Library Network), an online repository that has a limited reach. It’s a step against India becoming Vishwa Guru.”