Candidates unaware of revised UGC guidelines

BANGALORE: Following the revised recruitment policies made by University Grants Commission (UGC), Rani Chenamma University, Belgaum has become the first university in the state to start recruitment for teaching posts under these new guidelines. However, experts fear lack of awareness among the applicants, especially when it comes to fulfillment of some of the stringent prerequisites. “The new guidelines definitely ensure a great level of academic quality. But it is unfortunate that applicants are unaware about the required guidelines. Compared to the previous guidelines, the new ones are a lot more rigid and demanding,” Prof B R Ananthan, Vice-Chancellor of Rani Chenamma University, told Express. The University is currently recruiting for 69 posts teaching posts.  As per the new ‘not-so-highlighted’ UGC guidelines, candidates applying for the posts of professors and associate professors (readers) need minimum Academic Performance Indicators (API) along with other requisites. The calculation of API is based on the marks scored by the applicants in three broad categories. Category One, which has 125 marks allotted, deals with teaching, learning and evaluation related activities. Category Two, with 50 marks, relates to co-curricular, extension and professional development related activities. Category Three, the most significant one, has no maximum marks allotted, but is related to research and  academic contributions. The minimum API for professors is 400, while associate professors need 300 API. “Earlier, the applicants could influence their way through as there were no stringent requirements. Measures like API will substantially reduce such malpractices,” added Prof Ananthan. “If the bar of quality is not raised, we will be stuck with substandard quality. The idea behind this move by the UGC is to improve the quality of teaching. There may be challenges initially, but it is a very welcome move in the long-run,” said Dr M K Sridhar, member secretary and executive director, Karnataka Knowledge Commission. While the new guidelines are welcome, some have expressed reservations about Category Three. It states that research publications authored individually are marked more than collaborative works. “The new API system will discourage collaborative research as there will be a race for becoming the first author of a research paper because it will fetch more points than the rest. This will in turn reduce the good quality research,” said a senior academician.