Panel to probe ‘irregularities’ in HPU's PhD admission process

The Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University has taken serious notice of allegations regarding irregularities in the PhD admission process of University Institute of Technology (UIT). A five-member committee has been formed to investigate the matter.

The committee will be chaired by Dr BK Shivram, Dean of Studies (DS), with Prof Mamta Mokta, Dean of Student Welfare; Prof Manu Sood, Dean of the Faculty of Physical Sciences; and Prof Wamik Azmi, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, as its members. Naresh Kumar Sharma, Deputy Registrar from the DS office, will serve as the convener. The committee has been instructed to submit its findings to the Vice-Chancellor as soon as possible.

This decision follows allegations made by an individual who claimed that while admissions to 27 out of 28 departments were based on national fellowships such as NET-JRF, CSIR-JRF, or other valid scholarships, the University Institute of Technology admitted one candidate without any fellowship.

The complainant argued that this was a violation of the university’s policy, which stated that only candidates with scholarships were eligible for the PhD programme. The admissions were conducted in November 2024, following an advertisement in September 2024 inviting applications for direct admission (without an entrance test) for the 2024-25 academic session.