Kerala University adalat set to hear complaints

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala University will organise an adalat for hearing complaints, including those of PhD registration.  The Standing Committee on Academics and Research will finalise the modalities for the programme, a meeting of the syndicate held on Saturday decided.  The adalat was being organised as those who wished to register for PhD were facing problems due to regulations that capped the number of MPhil and PhD students a professor can supervise at a time at three and eight, respectively. 

Associate professors can supervise two MPhil and six PhD students, and assistant professors one and four, respectively. The number of research positions available in a university will, therefore, be determined by the number of teachers with the required qualifications available. The practice till date was for universities and departments themselves to decide on the number of seats. Only a full-time regular teacher of the concerned university/college can act as a supervisor. It means an external, visiting, adjunct or part-time teacher in a university cannot be the core supervisor of a research scholar. 

However, a co-supervisor can be allowed in interdisciplinary areas, which meant that many students who qualified NET exams might be left out with a guide.  The rules of stipulated a minimum two consecutive semesters or one year, and a maximum of four consecutive semesters or two years.  The rules stipulated a minimum of three years, including coursework, and a maximum of six years for PhD.  Extension beyond the limit to be governed by statute or ordinance of the individual institution.