IIMS set to admit graduates directly in PHD

THERE ARE 20 IIMS IN THE COUNTRY AND ALL ARE LIKELY TO BENEFIT FROM THE MOVE

NEW DELHI: In a move that will benefit thousands of students, the human resource development (HRD) ministry is likely to allow the elite Indian Institutes of Management (IIMS) to admit students directly to their PHD programmes after completion of a four-year Bachelors degree or professional courses.

A number of IIMS have raised the matter with the government, which also received a proposal from Iim-bangalore to allow the B-schools to admit students directly to PHD programmes after they graduate, like the Indian Institutes of Technology are allowed to do.

“We have sent a proposal to the HRD ministry to allow direct admission of students to the PHD programme after completing their four-year graduation or their CA/ ICAI/CS, apart from those having a Masters,” Iim-bangalore director G. Raghuram said, adding, “We already admit such candidates to our fellow programmes, but are not able to grant them a PHD degree. Now that the IIM Act is in place, the government should allow us to grant them a degree.”

CA and CS are short for chartered accountancy and company secretaryship. ICAI stands for the Institute of Cost Accountants of India, previously known as the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI).

There are 20 IIMS in the country and all are likely to benefit from the move. Earlier, the IIMS were being asked to adhere to the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) norms on award of PHD degrees. As per the commission’s, notification, only people with a master’s degree are eligible to pursue PHD.

According to a senior HRD official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the issue raised by the IIMS was examined in light of the PHD programmes conducted by some IITS, which are also institutes of national Importance and are empowered to award degrees. IIMS too have been allowed to award degrees under the IIM Act, 2017. However, the ministry has also pointed out that Iitdelhi, for instance, has prescribed a minimum period of three years for PHD for scholars having a degree other than a Masters or equivalent.

“For students with a fouryear graduation, the minimum duration would be three years. The duration for completing PHD for those having a Masters degree is two years so similar rules have to be followed by IIMS,” said a second HRD ministry official.