UGC Warns Students Not To Be Misled By Ads For Online PhD Programmes

Bhubaneswar: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a notice to advise all aspiring students not to be misled by any advertisements for online PhD programmes on Friday.

“Students and public, at large, are hereby advised not to be misled by advertisements for online Ph.D programmes offered by EduTech Companies in collaboration with Foreign Educational Institutes. Such online Ph.D. programmes are not recognized by UGC,” read the notice in a newspaper advertisement.

The commission further advised students to ensure that the PhD programmes are authentic in nature and verify them as per the UGC Regulations 2016 before taking admission into such courses.

UGC added that it is mandatory for all Indian Higher Educational Institutions (HEls) to follow UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of M.Phil/Ph.D. Degrees) Regulations, 2016, and its amendments for awarding degrees.

In March 2022, the commission proposed amendments to the UGC regulations 2016 and suggested that 60 per cent of admissions for PhD will be filled up by students who have cleared the UGC NET Exam or the UGC NET JRF exam and the remaining 40 per cent will be filled through the entrance exams of the respective universities.