New Delhi, The University of Delhi’s decision to allow students completing four-year undergraduate programmes to directly pursue PhD has triggered a divide among faculty members, with some calling it a progressive step aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP), others warning it could weaken academic foundations and create ambiguities in admissions.
The amended PhD regulations, approved by the Academic Council (AC) on Friday, allow students completing a four-year undergraduate programmes to enroll directly into doctoral programmes, subject to prescribed eligibility conditions.
Faculty members opposing the move argued that bypassing a Master’s degree could adversely affect research quality.
Miranda House faculty member Abha Dev Habib said postgraduate education plays a crucial role in strengthening a student’s conceptual understanding before entering specialised research.
“A PhD narrows down the domains. It is not broad and does not strengthen your foundation. Postgraduate studies give you the foundation for a subject, which later gives you the freedom to move from one domain of research to another. That kind of grounded understanding is very important,” she told PTI.
Habib also questioned the long-term viability of the provision.
“The university is making too many changes without thinking them through. A person who has completed a master’s degree and PhD from a good institution is likely to be preferred for the position of assistant professor, over someone who directly enters a PhD after a four-year undergraduate programme,” she said.
Deshbandhu College professor Biswajit Mohanty said that while the proposal sought to promote research under the NEP framework, it suffered from several practical shortcomings.
“There will be intense competition between those entering through the National Eligibility Test (NET) route and those who get a direct opportunity after their undergraduate degree. It feels like a knee-jerk reaction by the university. The education structure is not stable enough to handle this kind of overburdening,” he said.
According to the AC agenda, supernumerary seats have been recommended for admission in PhD to, “Undergraduate students who have completed four-year undergraduate programmes in the University of Delhi or its Colleges with at least 6.0 CGPA for UR/ OBC/EWS and 5.5 CGPA for SC/ST/PwBD candidates and have at least one research publication in a Scopus-indexed journal as the First/Second/ Corresponding author shall be considered for admission to Ph.D. programmes.”
The provision further says that the faculty member who has supervised the student for the UG research may continue to guide the student, “If the student wishes to continue under him/her, provided the faculty member has a Ph.D. degree and research laboratory, as applicable.”
Academic Council member Maya John, who had submitted a dissent note against the amended ordinance, said multiple admission pathways to PhD programmes could create administrative and policy challenges.
“If there are so many parallel templates functioning for PhD admissions, it is going to create problems. The university is saying there will be supernumerary seats for students with Scopus-indexed publications who can directly enter PhD programmes. That creates a grey area regarding reservation,” she said.
The dissent note submitted during the Academic Council meeting had also raised concerns over the absence of clarity on how reservation norms would apply to four-year undergraduate students seeking direct admission to PhD programmes.
It argued that these candidates constitute a separate category but have been clubbed with master’s and MPhil degree holders, potentially creating ambiguities in implementing reservation policies.
However, several college principals welcomed the decision, describing it as a significant step towards promoting undergraduate research.
Ramjas College Principal Ajay Kumar Arora said the provision was in line with the NEP’s vision of offering multiple academic pathways.
“This follows the provisions of the NEP, where there are various ways of advancing in one’s academic career. The one-year postgraduate programme will continue to run in parallel. Since students will have to publish research in Scopus-indexed journals, it will motivate them to engage in research early during their undergraduate studies,” he said.
Kirori Mal College Principal Dinesh Khattar said the college had already seen encouraging results under the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP).
“Twenty-eight students from the previous FYUP batch have published research papers, with 10 of them getting published in Scopus-indexed journals. The new provision will encourage more students to pursue quality research,” he said.
Delhi University Dean of Admissions Haneet Gandhi said eligible students with Scopus-indexed publications would be considered under a separate supernumerary category for direct PhD admissions.
“There will be supernumerary seats through which students with Scopus publications can directly secure admission to PhD programmes. At the same time, a committee has been constituted to examine the possibility of increasing seats in the one-year postgraduate programme, and the matter is still under consideration,” he said.
Gandhi added that while the academic session for the two-year postgraduate programmes begins on Tuesday, admissions to the one-year postgraduate programme are still underway and its academic session will commence later. PTI
