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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Will replacing PhD professors with practitioners work? -Siddharth Singh

Will replacing PhD professors with practitioners work? -Siddharth Singh

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published Published on May 19, 2022   modified Modified on May 19, 2022

-The Hindu

Challenges abound in this approach, which needs to be analysed in depth before a policy is announced

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has recently announced that it will do away with the mandatory PhD qualification to teach in Central Universities (CUs) spread across the country. It purportedly addresses a shortage of qualified faculty in CUs. According to the Ministry of Education data, there were 10,000 teaching positions lying vacant in CUs as of December 2021.

Industry experts and professional practitioners from different fields with domain expertise will be brought in to address the shortage by creating special positions of Professor and Associate Professor of Practice. Recently, UGC Chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar stated that the New Education Policy (NEP) “emphasises better collaboration with industries. The experts need to have demonstrated experience in a given domain.” On the face of it, this appears well-intentioned. However, it also raises an important question. What is the main problem that the UGC is trying to solve? Is it carte blanche to do away with PhDs to meet the shortfall? Are we going to treat PhDs and other professors as equals? If so, it should not be. It is a treacherous path laden with umpteen challenges. 

PhD value

What value do good PhDs bring to teaching? Besides imparting cutting-edge knowledge with a sound conceptual base that is relevant for a long time, they train and equip students with skills to face real-life challenges. PhD teachers are trained to answer “how” and “why” questions. Fundamentally they are researchers. Besides transferring existing knowledge to students, they are supposed to create new knowledge through long and deep investigations of relevant issues using academic rigour. They come out with concepts and theories tested and retested by others.

Such fundamental understanding is applicable across industries and over time, and forms the foundation of any application or solution in the real world. To use a marketing example, the theory that rational consumers choose based on perceived superior value will be eternal and unchanging. However, the way a business organisation can create value would change depending on contextual characteristics, consumer behaviour, and available technology. A good PhD teacher would focus on the relevant theories and show how they are applied in practice in various contexts to equip students to face current and future challenges. Apart from imparting knowledge, PhD teachers provide tools for analysis in practice and create critical thinkers prepared to face challenges across industries and time.

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The Hindu, 19 May, 2022, https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/will-replacing-phd-professors-with-practitioners-work/article65427618.ece?homepage=true


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