Page 16 - EducationWorld May 2022

Education News

Illusory research tivities to e-learning/virtual mode to
avoid academic loss to Ph D scholars,
spurt and ensured that their research activ-
ity was uninterrupted,” says K.M. Soni
(quoted earlier).
LTHOUGH STUDENTS IN INDIA ex- Although the spurt in R&D activ-
perienced the world’s highest ity and number of postgrad students
Alearning loss because of the opting for doctoral studies is a silver
most prolonged shutdown of educa- lining to the dark pandemic cloud
tion institutions from pre-primaries that has disrupted the education of
to universities during the Covid-19 300 million children and youth for
pandemic, the number of enrolments an unwarrantedly prolonged inter-
and awards for Ph D degrees rose sig- regnum of 82-90 weeks, it’s too early
nificantly. to assess whether this will yield use-
Even in higher education institu- ful outcomes in terms of marketable
tions where the number of Ph D ad- Soni: uninterrupted activity products and services. Regrettably,
missions took a minor dip, a high level Indian universities tend to award Ph
of engagement and improvement in assessment. “Even private corporates, Ds too easily without scholars being
quality publications was witnessed. which are not deeply into product rigorously cross-examined on their
“We have seen a spurt in quality pub- and fundamental research have tak- Ph D dissertations.
lications by Ph D scholars during the en many strides forward to intensify Debasish Roy (Noida)
pandemic period. Our scholars were research activities so that when the
able to devote much more time to world becomes normal again, we are MAHARASHTRA
attend international online confer- ready with innovative products,” says
ences and webinars, writing research Rahaman. Self-wounding project
articles and theses, resulting in an in- Dr. Rahaman’s team at Nuziveedu
crease in the number of Ph D degrees Seeds is actively involved in develop- ORE THAN 1,200 ENGLISH-
awarded during 2020 and 2021,” says ing 12 new varieties of high-yielding medium schools have
Dr. K.M. Soni, dean of research at jute seeds, quite a few of which have Mclosed down in Maharash-
the top-ranked Amity University, been endorsed officially by the Union tra during the past two years due to
Noida. ministry of agriculture. financial hardship. The majority of
The Regent Education and Re- Disappointed by India Inc’s dis- them are financially independent
search Foundation (RERF), Barrack- interest in research and innovation, budget private schools (BPS) levying
pore (West Bengal), a late entrant into Prof. Swapan Kumar Datta, vice tuition fees of Rs.30,000 per year or
research which recently admitted its chancellor, Biswa Bangla University, less. They became unviable during
first batch of students writing M.Sc, Kolkata, stresses that government the prolonged government mandated
B.Tech and other degree programmes, support for R&D in universities is pandemic lockdown of all education
has also witnessed a record 63 percent vital. “Government grants to univer- institutions countrywide for 82-90
of postgrads signing up for higher re- sities have to increase to build the weeks when only online education
search in fields related to biological infrastructure for research, which is was permitted.
sciences. essential for stimulating R&D activ- With BPS promoters having suf-
This rush of candidates for Ph D ity,” says Datta, a well-respected pio- fered massive income loss during the
studies is unprecedented, says Dr. Pi- neer of agricultural research in India, pandemic, the Independent English
jush Mallick, director of the School with several years of R&D experience Schools Association of Maharashtra
of Life Sciences and Allied Health in Germany and Japan. (IESA), comprising 4,324 private
Sciences at Swami Vivekananda Uni- Reassuringly, the privately pro- budget schools as member institu-
versity, Barrackpore. “Applications moted Amity University (Noida) tions, has demanded the state gov-
for doctorate studies in biology and has stepped up its R&D activity and ernment constitutes a new depart-
related fields have increased mani- awarded 284 Ph Ds in 2021. “During ment within the education ministry
fold. However, engineering students the Covid-19 pandemic, nearly 1.2 bil- to navigate revival of budget private
still prefer gainful employment to aca- lion students worldwide were learning schools.
demic research,” says Mallick. from home on digital platforms. Am- Maharashtra’s BPS which consti-
Dr. Mosiur Rahaman, princi- ity was no exception. As per guidelines tute 83 percent of the state’s 58,000
pal scientist at the Hyderabad-based prescribed by the University Grants private schools, educate children of
Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd, supports this Commission, we migrated all ac- aspirational lower middle and organ-

16 EDUCATIONWORLD MAY 2022