MPhil course loses its sheen, enrolments dip

The Times of India | Swati Shinde Gole | TNN | January 2, 2016 | Pune |

Pune: Enrolments for MPhil courses in the state have seen a decline over the last academic year. At the same time, enrolments for PhD courses have seen a distinct rise, a status report on higher education in the country has revealed. The report – the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) – was released recently. Between 2006 and 2009, MPhil candidates aspiring for assistant lecturer posts in colleges were given a NET/SET exemption, which resulted in healthy enrolment. But the exemption was discontinued in 2009. According to experts, this affected MPhil enrolment as candidates did not want to spend so many years getting an MPhil degree without the relaxation.

The UGC regulation had exempted candidates who had obtained MPhil degrees on or before July 10, 2009, from the NET/SET qualifications. Candidates who had registered for PhD courses on or before July 10, 2009, or had been subsequently awarded the PhD degree were also eligible for the relaxation. The number of candidates registering for MPhil in the state fell by close to 500 in 2014-15 as against the previous year. PhD enrolments went up by almost 1,500 during the year. Despite this, Maharashtra still ranks second after Tamil Nadu in terms of enrolment for the MPhil degree in the country. But the state has far fewer registrations compared to Tamil Nadu’s 15,304 candidates. – Courtesy