PhD must for college teachers
In a move to enhance the quality of higher education in India, human resources development minister Prakash Javadekar said on Wednesday that a PhD. degree had been mandatory for recruitment as a university teacher from the 2021-22 academic year, and passing the National Eligibility Test (NET) would not suffice.
At present, those who have a PhD. or have cleared NET are eligible to apply for recruitment as assistant professor, the entry-level position in Indian universities.
However, a masters degree with NET or Ph.D. would continue to be the minimum eligibility requirement for recruitment in colleges, a senior HRD official said here on Wednesday.
Announcing the new University Grants Commission regulations, Mr Javadekar said Academic Performance Indicators (API), resisted by many teachers as research was made compulsory for college teachers, had also been scrapped so that they can focus on teaching students.
In order to enhance the quality of education at higher level, Union human resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said that PhD has been made mandatory and National Eligibility Test (Net) would not be accepted as the only eligibility for recruitment of teachers in the universities from 2021-22 academic year.
“The entire effort is to improve quality of higher education and to attract and retain the best talent in the country. All the incentives of earlier regulations have been maintained but the API for college teachers has been removed. Now college teachers would not have to mandatorily do research but will have to essentially concentrate and give better education to the undergraduate students,” he said.
Teaching outcomes would be considered for promotion and if a teacher does research work, it would attract additional points for promotion, the minister added. “The new recruitment for universities will be only PhD holders. We have given time of three years. So from 2021, the assistant professor (entry level position) will have to hold PhDs,” Javadekar said.
The minister said for the first time provision for promotion in colleges will be up to professor level.