NEW DELHI: It will now be mandatory for PhD researchers across India to study two new courses in publication ethics and misconduct for pre-registration course work.
On Thursday, the University Grants Commission (UGC) sent a circular to all higher education institutions stating that it has approved a two-credit course on ethics and misconduct of publication.
Titled ‘Research and Publication Ethics’, the 30-hour course will be compulsory for all PhD students for pre-registration course work in the universities, the circular said.
Incidentally, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has been trying to improve the quality of PhDs in India. The higher education regulator also released a set of five documents - guidelines for inculcation of human values and professional ethics in higher educational institutes, a guide to faculty induction programme, consortium for academic and research ethics and framework for economically and sustainable campus development in higher educational institutes.
Union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank had released these documents as part of efforts to “improve the quality in higher educational institutes.”