One of the clauses in the rules governing the PhD programme of Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, is blatantly racist.
The rule pertains to adjudication of a thesis. Clause 19.6 (a) of the rule (available in pdf at >Ph.D modified regulations from 2013-14 onwards ) reads: “For all PhD theses (except Tamil), the panel of examiners consisting of four foreign examiners, preferably from the scientifically advanced countries, avoiding African countries (exception South Africa).”
C. Pichaandy, vice-president of the Association of University Teachers, says: “This is racist, coming from a country whose freedom struggle was launched by Mahatma Gandhi, and there is enough history about the anti-apartheid movement. We don’t know how this has been allowed.”
Another regulation which Professor Pichaandy flags is the category which permits candidates outside the university’s jurisdiction to register for PhD for a fee.
He says thousands of candidates have registered themselves for the programme in the past several years.
The regulation ‘Category B’ stipulates that the supervisor could be working in any research centre recognised by the university, “located within or outside” the university’s jurisdiction.
Candidates who register in absentia must pay a non-refundable annual fee of Rs.20,000. It is Rs.18,000 for those living in the university’s jurisdiction.
“A PhD candidate requires regular guidance from his mentor, be it to understand the subject, the method of doing research or to develop a research question which will later help the candidate work on the thesis,” Professor Pichaandy says.
