Bogus journals, substandard PhD theses under the scanner
The University Grants Commission (UGC) is on a cleansing process against bogus journals and substandard PhD theses as the quality of our research sector has been eroding, UGC vice chairman Bhushan Patwardhan has said.
Speaking on the sidelines of a symposium on ‘Research in Ayurveda: Need, scope and future’ organised by AMMOI (Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers Organisation of India) here on Sunday, he said the quality of research papers had been eroding in the country, especially over the past 10 years.
“The UGC has appointed a 20-member committee headed by Padmanabhan Balram, former director, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, to review the research papers approved by the UGC in the last 10 years. The committee has been given six months to review the situation. At least we will know where we stand and how much damage has been done to the research sector,” he said.
To check the umpteen dubious journals that publish papers with vested interests, the UGC has published a list of approved journals, Mr. Patwardhan said. We have requested the universities and institutions to consider only papers that appeared in the journals listed by us while deciding on faculty appointments. They have been asked to go by quality, not quantity,” he said.
Credit bank
‘National Academic Credit Bank’ (NAC bank), is another revolutionary step to be taken by the UGC in the higher education sector in near future. “It will make the inter-university degrees a reality in the country. The NAC bank would allow the students to join one university, pursue courses in another university, and earn the degree from yet another one. This student-centric system, already exiting in foreign universities, will bring lots of flexibility to the students,” Mr. Patwardhan said.
Speaking about STRIDE (Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research in India’s Developing Economy), Mr. Patwardhan said the objective of the system was to improve collaboration among various stakeholders in the research sector for the benefit of society.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) is on a cleansing process against bogus journals and substandard PhD theses as the quality of our research sector has been eroding, UGC vice chairman Bhushan Patwardhan has said.
Speaking on the sidelines of a symposium on ‘Research in Ayurveda: Need, scope and future’ organised by AMMOI (Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers Organisation of India) here on Sunday, he said the quality of research papers had been eroding in the country, especially over the past 10 years.
“The UGC has appointed a 20-member committee headed by Padmanabhan Balram, former director, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, to review the research papers approved by the UGC in the last 10 years. The committee has been given six months to review the situation. At least we will know where we stand and how much damage has been done to the research sector,” he said.
To check the umpteen dubious journals that publish papers with vested interests, the UGC has published a list of approved journals, Mr. Patwardhan said. We have requested the universities and institutions to consider only papers that appeared in the journals listed by us while deciding on faculty appointments. They have been asked to go by quality, not quantity,” he said.
Credit bank
‘National Academic Credit Bank’ (NAC bank), is another revolutionary step to be taken by the UGC in the higher education sector in near future. “It will make the inter-university degrees a reality in the country. The NAC bank would allow the students to join one university, pursue courses in another university, and earn the degree from yet another one. This student-centric system, already exiting in foreign universities, will bring lots of flexibility to the students,” Mr. Patwardhan said.
Speaking about STRIDE (Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research in India’s Developing Economy), Mr. Patwardhan said the objective of the system was to improve collaboration among various stakeholders in the research sector for the benefit of society.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/ugc-on-a-cleansing-process-in-research-sector/article29254256.ece (Accessed on August 26, 2019)
