Friday 28 January 2022

ABOLISH MANDATORY CONDITION FOR PUBLISHING RESEARCH

ABOLISH MANDATORY CONDITION FOR PUBLISHING RESEARCH

The mandatory requirement of publishing research papers has promoted Plagiarism, manipulated research, mushrooming of very substandard commercial journals etc. The main objective of making this a mandatory requirement is to indirectly build the biodata (CV) of faculty members. Every policy is basically faculty centric at the expense of the research students. However commercial journals are thankful to such policy makers for assuring fortune to them.

Most horrifying is the fact that some unscrupulous persons launch a journal from their laptop and publish papers to meet the requirement for their selection. Once selected, the journal dies prematurely. It is quite often seen that Research Supervisors exploit the research students only for completing the eligibility criterion for their next promotion / selection. Publications by coercing the research students seldom result in quality publications. Just check how many teachers have single author publications? There were no such compulsions sometime until mid-nineties and I am sure PhD theses produced before this condition was launched, were no less in quality.

Research Publications must be the outcome of self-motivation of the researcher and the chemistry with the Research Supervisor. I sincerely appeal and request the Directors & Vice Chancellors, UGC, AICTE and Ministry of Education to abolish this real unhealthy practice with immediate effect to arrest the further decline of research and academics.