In an attempt to simplify matters for students pursuing Ph.D. at the University of Delhi, the varsity now allows the students to appear for their viva through skype or any other mode of video conferencing.
Usually scholars who are ready to submit their thesis are offered diverse opportunities abroad. But earlier due to the requirement of appearing for the viva in person, such students had to fly back to the country. Since it created an unfavorable situation, this need has now been done away with by the University.
The students who are willing to opt for the mechanism of viva through video conferencing are required to inform their concerned departments in advance. As per the directives from the University Grants Commission (UGC), it is a mandate that all submitted thesis should be subjected to plagiarism check by specialised softwares to curb plagiarism.“There are certain softwares which are available over the internet too but they do not yield fool proof results.We are procuring certain specialised softwares to ensure the scholars cannot do any cut-paste job,” a varsity official was quoted as telling a national daily. Also, if an expert from the interview panel is unable to be a part of the viva in person, a similar setup needs to be adopted to conduct the process.
These amendments with regard to the doctoral programmes got approval during an Executive Council (EC) meeting earlier this month. The time span for completing a Ph.D. has been increased from 4 years up to a maximum of 6.5 years. The earlier norm of a separate admission process for each department is now replaced by a compulsory entrance test for all Ph.D. aspirants.
Though the varsity purports to make the process more student friendly, the viability of the proposal is yet to be seen.
Tanya Agarwal
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