In what can be called as a great step to improve the quality of higher education in the country, the Central government on Wednesday decided to make Ph.D degree compulsory for direct recruitment of teachers in central universities from 2021.
“Ph.D Degree has been made mandatory requirement for direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Professors in university with the effect from July 1, 2021,” Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said, adding, “However Masters Degree with NET or Ph.D will continue to be the minimum eligibility requirement for direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Professors in colleges.”
These steps from the University Grants Commission are a part of new regulations to attract and retain the best quality teachers and other academic staff in universities and colleges.
“Up to 10% of the existing sanctioned strength of Professors in universities shall be appointed as Senior Professors in the universities,” he said, adding, “Senior Professors in universities will be appointed through direct recruitment and through promotion under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS).”
The minister announced that the universities will accord permission and provide need-based facilities to colleges teachers to supervise Ph.D/M.Phil scholars.
“Promotion criteria under the CAS for university teachers has been made more research-oriented while in case of college teachers, the CAS criteria is more focused on teaching,” he said.
Javadekar further said that in a first, provision for promotion in colleges will be up to Professor level.
“Special provision for recruitment of Assistant Professors in universities and colleges for Ph.D Degree holders from a University/Institution in the top 500 Global rankings has been made,” he informed.
“Weightages are assigned for the CAS in respect of MOOCs and e-content in universities and colleges for the first time,” he said.
As per the new regulations, research clusters will be created in the universities within the state for sharing research facilities, skills and infrastructure to ensure optimal utilization of resources and creating synergies amongst higher education institutions.
According to the minister, the incentives to teachers as provided in the earlier Regulations of 2010 and subsequent amendments have also been retained and these include incentives for M.Phil/Ph.D as well.
In another major change, the MHRD has decided to do away with the Academic Point Indicator (API) system considered during the promotion of teachers at the college level.
“The API-based PBAS (Performance Based Appraisal System) has been removed, and a new simplified teacher evaluation grading system has been introduced and research score added for universities to improve research output,” he added.
The minister also said that a special category of medal winners in Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games in eligibility criteria for Assistant Director/College Director, Physical Education and Sports and Deputy Director, Physical Education and Sports in Universities has been made to promote sports in universities and colleges.
