60% dip in PhDs at Mumbai University over 4 yrs

The contribution of PhD research at the University of Mumbai has dipped by close to 60 per cent in the past four years. The highest drop among doctoral graduates is in the pure science streams.

From 2008 to 2011, the number of PhD degrees awarded fell from 325 to 134, as per information provided by the MU's thesis department to RTI activist Anil Galgali. Several streams like commerce, human physiology, medicine, labour studies, molecular biology, geology and African studies had no takers.

While the university officials said that the drop is due to decreasing interest among students in pursuing a PhD but many other senior academicians felt that it was the research quality that mattered and not the headcount.

"For close to a year in the period under question, the varsity was not functioning normally. There wasn't a full-time vice-chancellor and the elections to several academic bodies were due. Hence, the research and recognition committee (which clears PhD proposals and conducts vivas for graduating PhDs) was not in place for almost a year," said a senior Mumbai university official. H

He said he has cleared thousands of PhD proposals in the last one year and vivas for outgoing PhD fellows were being held on daily basis.

Faculty in the chemistry department, which saw the sharpest fall from 85 fellows in 2008 to 20 in 2011, said it was due to a faculty member who had retired and some others who had superannuated.

"There is no fall in interest of students wanting to do a PhD in chemistry," said V R Ajgaonkar from the department. Heads of several other schools noted that it was not correct to compare the annual PhD output of a university.

"The PhD isn't a tenured course. It depends on the individual pace of the student and the guide. Even one great PhD can change the course of how one lives," said a faculty.

Anitha Kurup, an associate professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, and Jagdish Arora, director, Information and Library Network Centre, who collated information on PhDs from across India between 1998 and 2007, found that Delhi is the PhD capital of the country.

It has produced over 73% (7,872) of the total doctoral theses in the country. Uttar Pradesh is a distant second (5,421) followed by Maharashtra 8% (3,942).

Source: www.indiaeducationreview.com