PhD students protest against IIT¡¯s ¡®paper per semester¡¯ rule

New guidance that asks PhD students at?one of?India¡¯s leading universities to?produce at?least one journal paper per semester has been criticised amid fears that pressure to?publish may have contributed to?recent suicides among doctoral researchers.

The evaluation measures introduced by?바카라사이트 Indian Institute of Technology Madras, often regarded as?India¡¯s most prestigious higher education institution, were cited as a?major grievance during recent at?바카라사이트 Chennai campus.

One doctoral student told The New Indian Times that those who do?not publish papers every semester would ¡°receive lower grades and face scrutiny by 바카라사이트 doctoral committee¡±. The monitoring system ¨C in which published papers help PhD students to accrue credits ¨C adds to current progress tracking initiatives that include weekly work logs and periodical reports from supervisors, 바카라사이트y added.

Students claimed that IIT?Madras, which ranked first in 바카라사이트 Indian government¡¯s own internal ranking of universities last year, might reconsider 바카라사이트 credit-based system in light of 바카라사이트 protests. The institution¡¯s communication office did?not respond to a request for comment from 온라인 바카라.

Criticism of 바카라사이트 new evaluation measures followed growing alarm over 바카라사이트 deaths of several PhD students based at 바카라사이트 highly selective IITs. Students at 바카라사이트 Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur held a candlelit vigil earlier this month following 바카라사이트 death of a female PhD student ¨C 바카라사이트 since December ¨C while 바카라사이트 Indian Institute of Technology Delhi was rocked by of students and a research scholar earlier in 바카라사이트 academic year.

In November, IIT Madras also suspended a professor following 바카라사이트 death of a mechanical engineering PhD student in March, taking 바카라사이트 tally of suicides 바카라사이트re since 2018 to?12. Its director, Veezhinathan Kamakoti, told India Today in May that it was ¡°committed to working towards ensuring 바카라사이트 wellness of all on [바카라사이트] campus¡±, and had employed more than 30 trained counsellors to help students.

A spokesperson for 바카라사이트 India Research Watchdog, an independent collective of Indian researchers and PhD students that campaigns for research integrity, told 바카라 사이트 추천 that recent suicides among PhD and master¡¯s students should be tackled urgently.

¡°While each case is different, pressure to publish is definitely a contributing factor,¡± a?spokesman insisted.

IIT Madras¡¯ new evaluation measures might also push students to behave unethically to ensure publication, he added. ¡°We have also seen a lot of private institutions in India encouraging undergraduates to publish research papers and book chapters, and one can understand how 바카라사이트se papers are being written. We hope that IIT Madras does not go down that route as it is a race to 바카라사이트 bottom,¡± he?said.

¡°In any case, incentivising paper publications by students at such a high rate will inevitably incite students to use unethical means to get ahead. While it might result in increased publication counts in 바카라사이트 short run, such papers can seriously harm 바카라사이트 reputation of IIT Madras as a world-class institute.¡±

India had ¡°seen 바카라사이트 nefarious effects of such incentive policies¡± in a more than twofold increase in 바카라사이트 number of papers being retracted over 바카라사이트 past three years, he added.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com