CHENNAI: After PhD scholars in some of the state universities expressed their discontent and levelled allegations of harassment against their supervisors in recent months, Anna University has chalked out measures to avoid recurrence of such incidents.
The varsity has issued a circular stating that in case of allegations of harassment, the respective supervisors shall be penalised based on the recommendations of the committee constituted by the vice chancellor to probe the allegations. Under extreme conditions, the supervisorship of said faculty member shall be cancelled and the scholar shall be assigned a new supervisor or a research coordinator.
Similarly, if the supervisor is found deriving financial benefits from scholars, legal action will be initiated, a circular issued in this regard said.
Furthermore, the varsity has also taken measures to safeguard the interests of the supervisors as well against false allegations. “If the scholar is involved in academic bullying/harassment and found guilty of making false allegations against the supervisor, the scholar’s registration shall be cancelled,” the circular said.
However, PhD students in the varsity expressed their skepticism regarding implementation of the circular. “We appreciate the new guidelines but it should be ensured that the committee formed by the V-C should be impartial,” said a scholar.
The university has also decided that the viva voce of PhD candidates should be conducted within 45 days instead of within the current bound of three months, except in unavoidable cases.