New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) Wednesday issued a cautionary notice advising students against enrolling in the Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) program offered by certain universities.
The commission, through an official notification, said some universities were still accepting fresh applications for the M.Phil course, despite the UGC cancelling it in 2022. The education body said M.Phil was no longer a recognised degree.
The official notice stated, “It has come to notice that a few universities are inviting fresh applications for M.Phil Programs. In this regard, it is brought to notice that an M.Phil degree is not a recognised degree.”
The UGC referred to its 2022 regulation, which prohibits higher educational institutions from offering M.Phil programs. Students with a Masters degree can now directly apply for a PhD.
After the UGC discontinued M.Phil, it instructed universities to prevent admissions for the academic year 2023-24.
The decision to stop M.Phil was officially communicated by the UGC at the beginning of last year, as it aligned its “Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of PhD Degree Regulations” with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The NEP advocates a four-year Bachelor’s degree and a research-intensive Master’s degree, eliminating the need for an M.Phil for a PhD.
Consequently, universities nationwide, with the exception of Tamil Nadu, stopped offering the program.
The All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report released by the Education Ministry in 2023 revealed a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of -21.1 percent for M.Phil programs over the past five years. It had plummeted from 43,267 in 2016-17 to 16,744 in 2020-21, marking a decrease of nearly 61.3 percent.
Notably, M.Phil and Certificate programs were the only two levels witnessing a decline in total enrollments in the current academic year. The AISHE report was based on responses from 1,084 universities, 40,176 colleges, and 8,696 standalone institutions.
Media reports say that state universities in Tamil Nadu persist in offering the M.Phil during the academic year 2022-23.
These universities now find themselves in a challenging situation as they consider extending the program for the academic year 2023-24 due to the absence of specific directives from the state’s higher education department.
According to reports, universities in the state have been instructed to maintain the status quo ante concerning programmes offered until the high-level panel for the formulation of the State Education Policy (SEP) issued its recommendations.
The panel, chaired by retired Chief Justice D. Murugesan of the Delhi High Court, was established in April 2022, and its terms of reference were released that June.
The panel, which conducted public hearings in Chennai, Tiruchi, Madurai, Tiruvarur, and Tirunelveli, considered inputs from faculty associations and other stakeholders. It is yet to release a report.