PU centre, research promotion cell spar over eligibility of PhD students

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 14

The Centre for Systems Biology and Bioinformatics (CSBB), Panjab University, and the research promotion cell of the university are at war over three PhD students.

The PU and Defense Institute of Physiological and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), which comes under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), had signed a MoU for carrying out research work leading to PhD in systems biology and bioinformatics. Three students came from the DIPAS in 2016 to the CSBB for PhD.

On July 20, 2017, the academic and administrative committee of the department held that the syllabus of MSc Human Physiology (in which the candidates had postgraduation) did not match with that of MSc Systems Biology and Bioinformatics. It matched from 9 per cent to 26 per cent in case of the three candidates.

On May 29 this year, the committee ruled that these candidates neither qualified any national-level test like the National Eligibility Test (NET) nor PU’s entrance test.

Former Coordinator of the CSBB, Prof Suresh Sharma, complained, “Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Arun Kumar Grover has recommended their cases for PhD enrolment with effect from 2016, but these were signed by him on January 4 this year, indicating clear manipulation and misleading the VC by the the Director, RPC, by showing a 2016 file and ignoring all other letters.” Prof Sharma’s tenure as coordinator ended on June 30.

Meanwhile, the candidates took the pre-PhD exam at the DIPAS and the result is ready for declaration. Recently, present coordinator Dr Ashok Kumar was called to obtain his signatures so that the result could be declared. “But I refused. I do not know when this Pre-PhD exam took place. I will not sign without consulting the academic and administrative committee,” he said,

But the Director of the research promotion cell (RPC), Prof Ramanjit Kaur Johal, maintained that the candidates were eligible. “They are getting DRDO fellowship and as per PU’s eligibility rules, they could pursue PhD,” she said.

But Prof Sharma claimed that when the CSBB sent a query to the DIPAS to submit a copy of their advertisement through which these students had been awarded fellowship, they kept mum.

As the issue reached Prof Rajesh Gill, president, Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA), she wrote to the VC that decision of the faculty should be respected. She called it a fit case to be sent to the standing committee for investigation as students were enrolled despite lacking eligibility.