THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK-
Dr. Ramji Lal, Social Scientist, Former Principal, Dayal Singh College, Karnal (Haryana, India).
Email—[email protected]
In India, you find countless PhD degree holders serving in colleges and universities. Due to the doctorate degree, they are looked upon with respect in society, but the internal situation Customer is that in these centres of high-level education, you will find countless people with fake PhD degrees, fake diplomas, fake certificates, and fake MPhil degrees.
Not only in India but all over the world, PhD mills are producing PhD degrees. By PhD mill (factory), we mean a place where PhD degrees are purchased by paying fees in the same way as a customer purchases ready-made clothes from a mall. Fake PhD degrees were heard of in the 20th century as well, but the prevalence of fake degrees increased in the current century when NET or PhD was made the eligibility for lecturing in colleges and universities. Today, a business of billions of rupees is going on in India for fake PhD degrees. This business is flourishing from Kashmir to faraway Kerala, from Meghalaya to Maharashtra, from Delhi to Shimla. Degrees are distributed by private universities after charging fees. Although we talk about one nation, the fees for PhD degrees range from one lakh to 10 lakhs. This fee depends on the subject. There are many problems in the field of higher education in India. The biggest problem among these problems is the lack of quality. Both teachers and students are living in the absence of quality. It is a matter of pride for a teacher to study, teach students, and obtain an M.Phil. or PhD degree to enhance their intellectual level, but according to the former Governor of Gujarat, universities have become a ‘factory’ for making PhD and M.Phil. degrees. The basic reason for this is that instead of doing the work themselves, students or researchers pay other authors to write and publish their research work and research papers. Some private universities charge different amounts for providing PhD guides, preparing research papers, preparing synopses, writing PhD theses, etc. Government universities are also not untouched by this corruption. The universities named by the University Grants Commission in the allegations OPJS University; University of Technology; Madhav University; Raffles University; Singhania University (Rajasthan); Sri Venkateswara University, Mangalayatan University (Uttar Pradesh); Sri Sathya Sai University of Technology and Medical Sciences, Madhya Pradesh; Sai Nath University, and Jharkhand; Quantum University has forwarded the complaints of allegations of selling degrees of Uttarakhand University to the respective state governments for investigation. According to a report published in the Kashmir Life on December 4, 2024, Rajya Sabha was informed that these ten private Indian universities are under scrutiny for selling fake degrees.
Apart from these, some other shortcomings have also come to light after talking to the researchers.
The ‘course work’ of a PhD is 6 months, but in the name of ‘capsule course work’ it is only for 20 days, which is a blatant violation of the rules of UGC’s PhD Regulation. In this course work, the attendance of researchers is mandatory, but the attendance is recorded every day, and it is shown as if the researcher is regularly present in the class. The attendance of researchers is taken at the university, but they do not get any leave from the colleges. Such students are called ‘non-attending researchers’ or ‘dummy researchers’ and for this they have to pay a separate fee. According to reliable sources, extension lecturers are also appointed as PhD guides by many private universities.
In reference to the petition filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court (CWP No. 26892 of 2023), the Higher Education Department of the Government of Haryana has decided to include such professors who have obtained PhD degrees from OPJS and other private universities during their service and have taken advantage of it. Apart from this, after the instructions of UGC, instructions have also been given to send the information of ‘course work’ of these PhD holders to the principals of government colleges. (Memorandum No. 15/229, 2023 C-1B). Proper investigation should also be done by the Higher Education Department of the Government of Haryana regarding the attendance of PhD holders of private-aided colleges. Because even in today’s electronic age, attendance is recorded in the register when the biometric machine is off. About 500 extension lecturers in Haryana are fake degree holders.
In August 2020, RTI information continued to be published in newspapers. A large number of regular lecturers are also fake degree holders. If private-aided colleges, self-financed colleges, and all universities all over India are also included, this number may be even more than 10,000. The office of Director Higher Education, Haryana, has issued a memo (Memo No. 22/338—2024-C1 (S/1) on 30 January 2025) to the principals of all the government colleges of the state of Haryana. According to this memo, due to inquiry in CPWP No. 26892 of 2023 titled Rajbala and others vs. State and others, information has been sought about the extension professors of all government colleges who have done PhD during service from private or government universities because this information has been sought by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Panchkula, on the basis of which detailed inquiry can be done. According to information, a notice has been issued to about 292 extension lecturers.
It is also important to mention that the Haryana government has guaranteed job security for extension lecturers of government colleges till the age of 58 years, and there are many such professors who have joined permanent teaching jobs of the government. What will happen in such a situation? This is a very relevant question.
Our opinion is that the scope of inquiry should be increased, and all private and government, world universities, government colleges, private-aided colleges, and self-financed colleges and self-financed courses all over India should also be included in it; otherwise, education cannot improve.
Education is the best means of development for any nation. Can such teachers in educational institutions—world universities and colleges—provide quality education and create educated citizens for nation-building? How will teaching and research work be done in Indian higher education institutions on the basis of such professors? How can India move towards becoming a world leader through such research work?
