Degrees of suffering

Ph.D. scholars in Tamil Nadu have started speaking up about the exploitation they face from their guides in the pursuit of higher education. Nahla Nainar listens in and documents their woes

The usually formal convocation ceremonies at universities have turned a platform for Ph.D. students to express their angst in recent months. On October 28, while receiving his degree at Bharathidasan University’s 39th convocation in Tiruchi, F. Israel Inbaraj presented a petition, complaining about the treatment meted out to research scholars, to Governor-Chancellor R.N. Ravi. The incident caused a flutter, as media teams mobbed Mr. Inbaraj after the ceremony seeking details.

Talking to the The Hindu, Mr. Inbaraj, a Chennai-based management professional, said the “complete disregard for human rights” by some of the university research section staff and guides had made him pen the note. “I applied for a Ph.D. in Human Resource Management in 2017, but was able to get my degree only after six years. Though I was fortunate to have a supportive guide, there are many others who have been left high and dry in the recent past. I decided to present a petition to the Governor-Chancellor to inform him of what was happening to research scholars at the university,” said Mr. Inbaraj.

On October 13, A. Prakash, a Ph.D. scholar at Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore, handed a complaint to the Governor at the convocation. “At the time of the viva [voce], the research scholars are advised by some guides to shell out ₹50,000-₹1 lakh. Some scholars are being compelled to offer money, food, and gold to guides after the exam is completed successfully,” he said in the letter, highlighting the other alleged regulatory lapses at the university. “I was tired of seeing the inaction over the exploitation of research scholars by some guides and used the public forum to voice my concerns. Though my action grabbed headlines, there has been no change on the ground,” Mr. Prakash said.

But the tide seems to have turned in favour of the scholars. This week, the Additional Chief Secretary to the Tamil Nadu government issued a note to the Registrars of all the universities to take immediate steps to stop the harassment of research scholars by their guides. “An online reporting mechanism may be put in place so that the research scholars can report their grievances and immediate action [can be taken] to redress them,” said the note.

Culture of exploitation

According to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report for 2020-21, Tamil Nadu had the highest number of Ph.D. scholars (3,206) that academic year. Making Ph.D. mandatory for senior teaching positions at colleges and universities has led to more students taking up research. Interestingly, it was reported recently that the University Grants Commission (UGC) plans to alter the eligibility rules in favour of candidates who hold a strong interest in fields like start-ups, entrepreneurship, and industrial collaborations. In other words, earning a Ph.D. may no longer be compulsory for faculty appointments. But unless the UGC makes a definitive announcement, the toxicity of the Indian doctoral research arena will continue to grow, say observers.

The relationship between research scholars and their guides at Indian universities often appears feudal. Running errands for the guides is an accepted practice among research scholars. A Ph.D. scholar of Periyar University in Salem said, “Students who are unable to satisfy their guide’s financial demands will have to take on chores for them like grocery shopping, chauffeuring, and babysitting. A faculty member demanded that his students buy lunch for him every day.” Guides help students who comply with their demands in getting their papers published in research journals and clear their thesis, he added.

Today, a sovereign of gold is commonly expected, and given. There are guides who demand a gold coin for each of the two Doctoral Committees convened during the course. At times, scholars with an approved Ph.D. may still be expected to pay an additional bribe of ₹1 lakh-₹2 lakh when their work is signed, said a management professor from a college affiliated to Anna University. Then, there are experts who come for the Ph.D. panel with their families and demand freebies, the cost of which again has to be borne by the student. “An expert from Chennai came to Coimbatore with the whole family and asked for a tour to Ooty!” said the professor.

A Ph.D. scholar of Media Studies at Madurai Kamaraj University said that in his third year of research, his guide, the senior-most professor of the department, had hardly allowed him to work on his research topic. “I used to work on presentations and collect inputs for my guide’s research work. Even when I wanted to take time off to spend time on my research, he would blatantly refuse and ask me to do it after the work hours,” he added.

A silent conspiracy

Prabhu Panneerselvam enrolled for Ph.D. at Bharathidasan University’s Department of Commerce and Financial Studies (2024-29) and then quit because of the issues he had faced with his guide. Among the things he was allegedly forced to do for her were buying lunch and parking her two-wheeler using its double stand every day. “Some of the other scholars are treated like slaves and have been made to edit her curriculum vitae and prepare citations and presentations for her own personal work,” he claimed. When contacted, the guide refuted Mr. Panneerselvam’s allegations. “I thought we had a normal guide and scholar relationship, based on mutual respect. He seems to have misunderstood the situation. All our research students are treated like family,” the academic said.

But it seems the pressure to please guides has pushed some scholars beyond endurance. In November 2023, Sachin Kumar Jain, a 31-year-old Ph.D. scholar at the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), took his own life. His brother Bhavesh Jain had written a six-page letter to IIT Director V. Kamakoti, alleging that his brother was under “undue pressure” from his Ph.D. guide Ashish Kumar Sen. The professor was suspended after an inquiry committee found him responsible for the student’s death.

Another research scholar in Salem said Ph.D. students are treated like school children at Periyar University. “We have to mark attendance in the morning and the evening. Research departments should be allowed to function throughout the day, but, here, all the rooms are locked after 5.15 p.m. Ph.D. students have to do more field work because of the limited resources,” the scholar said.

A Coimbatore-based academic who had also been a Syndicate member at Bharathiyar University blamed the current situation on a system that “focuses on creating a record of work”. Teachers are burdened with clerical chores, especially in computerisation of academic papers. “There is no teaching or research any more; the focus is on creating a record of work. The rat race to publish and linking increments to publications puts pressure,” he said. However, in rare instances, there are supervisors who spend money for their students. “I know one in Erode, who pays the fees for his researchers,” he added.

Publishing articles in journals approved by the UGC-Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics (UGC-CARE) is a thorny issue because of its arbitrary nature. “Take, for instance, Anna University’s annexure I list of journals in which publication is mandatory. Almost all journals listed here are publications that demand money from the scholar, and some of them are dubious. The list has skipped Vikalpa, the prestigious journal of Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), but has included some other random publications,” said a professor.

With the performance index of the faculty being dependent upon the articles being printed in these journals (according to National Assessment and Accreditation Council rules) and scholars needing them for their Ph.D. course, the cost of publication is usually borne by the latter. The published paper bears the name of the supervisor as the second author. The demand for Scorpus journal publications is unreasonable for humanities, said researchers. “Universities have their own list of publications that are not even mandated by the UGC-CARE, needlessly adding to the financial burden of the scholars,” added a professor of English. The rush for publication has created a grey market wherein “research paper mills” that print in return for payment prosper. “Nowadays, you come across agents looking for Ph.D. candidates. I often get calls from some agents in Nagercoil asking me to accept a scholar, with the assurance that they will write the thesis and I will just have to clear it,” said a professor.

Independent researchers (who work without a guide until thesis submission) are not better off either. “There was a time when I had submitted a paper online, and within seconds, I got a message saying that it had been accepted, without any scrutiny,” said a professor, who had completed her Ph.D. in 2014, after starting her work in 2009. “I chose to do an independent Ph.D. because I had heard a lot about the toxic research space, demands for payment, and harassment faced by women scholars,” she said. However, at the time of submission and allocation of a supervisor at the end of submission, she had to pay ₹1.5 lakh to the ‘guide’.

The practice of guides receiving gold coins, gifts, and money from the candidates as a “mark of gratitude” is all too common, said T. Veeramani, principal, Government College for Women, Coimbatore, and former State president of Government College Teachers’ Association. A professor of English in Coimbatore, who regularly supervises students, flags how colleges restrict staff payments. “Ph.D. students pay a fee to the college, but the remuneration is not paid to the supervisor. Often, an external examiner from an international university will demand $1,500 for adjudication of a thesis. The university allocates only $100, the balance has to be paid up by the scholar,” says the professor. Hosting external examiners adds to the expenses, even if universities are willing to bear the cost. “It leads to the fee for the Ph.D programmes getting drastically hiked. Unfortunately, the problem is here to stay,” Professor Veeramani said.

Lack of integrity

There can be no quick-fix solution to the malady, said academics. The integrity of the external examiner invariably becomes suspect when they accept the elaborate hospitality of the candidate. “As though the deterioration in the quality of research is not enough, the personal corruption precipitates the decline,” said P.K. Ponnuswamy, former Vice-Chancellor of Madras and Madurai Kamaraj Universities. “The exploitation has existed for ages; perhaps, only the range has changed over the years. It is unfortunate that the corrupt have become bolder and are not bothered even by student suicides,” said E. Balagurusamy, former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University.

While news headlines focus on the plight of male candidates, the condition of women research scholars is more precarious, Professor Balagurusamy said. “Guides have been known to demand sexual favours from their women scholars for processing the paperwork. The victims’ plea for help often goes unheard, because women are expected to ‘adjust’ themselves to the situation if they want their degree,” he added.

Professor Balagurusamy, an advisor to the Confederation of Indian Private Universities, said playing fast and loose with the rules would affect the quality of research in the long run. “When guides are taking money for everything, they will not be worried about the quality of their scholars’ submissions. Reputation matters only to those with integrity,” he said.

(With inputs from R. Krishnamoorthy in Coimbatore, P. V. Srividya in Krishnagiri, M. Sabari in Salem, and Palanivel Rajan in Madurai.)

Published - November 24, 2024 01:03 am IST