COIMBATORE: Faced with strong opposition, Bharathiar University's has decided to withdraw a recent circular, which said that only associate professors and professors would be allowed into the PhD doctoral committee.
In a circular dated December 12 to principals of affiliated colleges and directors of approved research institutes, the university said, "Hitherto received the panel of members comprising assistant professor, associate professor and professor for granting permission for conducting the PhD doctoral committee. Hereafter, the panel of members should be professors and associate professors alone for granting permission to conduct the PhD doctoral committee to the PhD scholars."
Association of University Teachers (AUT) president N Pasupathy said that teachers have been working for more than 10-20 years in the assistant professor cadre in most self-financing colleges and private universities. University professors do not agree to be members of doctoral committees. This will result in the only associate professors from government and aided colleges being considered for doctoral committees.
Assistant professors with minimum teaching and research experience and having produced a certain number of PhD scholars and publications can be allowed to be part of a PhD doctoral committee, he suggested.
An assistant professor is allowed to guide four PhD candidates at a time, as per the University Grants Commission regulation, but is not allowed to be part of a doctoral committee. This is contrary to the basic rights of an assistant professor, complained another academician.
When contacted, Vice-Chancellor P Kaliraj clarified that the decision was taken only for university departments, which has large numbers of associate professors and professors. The circular will be withdrawn, he added.