In a move underscoring UGC’s commitment to academic quality, three Rajasthan universities have been prohibited from accepting PhD admissions for five years as they violated academic norms. The decision came shortly after UGC’s new NET resolutions.
On 16th Jan 2025, the UGC ordered the immediate suspension of admission at three Rajasthan universities: OPJS University (Churu), Sunrise University (Alwar), and Singhania University (Jhunjhunu) for five years (2025-26 to 2029-30) due to violations of academic norms and UGC PhD regulations.
The UGC deemed their practices unsatisfactory after reviewing compliance with guidelines such as entrance exam protocols, formation of a Research Advisory Committee (RAC), and thesis evaluation standards. Thirty others are still under scrutiny.
UGC’s notice stated, “After analyzing/ examining/ evaluating the information/ data submitted by the universities, the Standing Committee has found that three universities did not follow the provisions of the UGC PhD regulations and the academic norms for the award of PhD degrees. The responses received from these universities were not found satisfactory.“
UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar emphasized the importance of maintaining PhD program integrity and revealed that more universities across India are under review. Violations may result in similar punitive actions to uphold the reputation of Indian higher education.
“Universities should be committed to maintaining the highest standards in PhD programs. UGC will take appropriate action against institutions that fail to follow UGC’s PhD regulations. We are also in the process of checking the quality of PhD programs at a few other universities. If they are found to violate the PhD regulations, action will be taken against them, too. It is necessary to single out such erring institutions and prevent them from admitting PhD students. We should ensure that the integrity and global reputation of Indian higher education remain uncompromised,” said M Jagadesh Kumar, chairperson of UGC.
He added that several parameters are taken into account, such as whether 70% weightage is accorded to entrance score and 30% to interview, whether students make presentations every semester to the RAC, the quality of examiners after the thesis is submitted, and whether the feedback given by experts is included in the thesis.
Stay tuned for more updates.
