A peer team report on “Institutional Accreditation of Kannur University” in July 2021 had pointed out insufficient research publications in Scopus Index Journal as a weakness in the overall analysis of the university.
Despite this, the university syndicate has decided at a meeting that faculty members would be granted guideship on the basis of their research papers, without insisting on their publication in prestigious journals.
The Kerala Students Union has come out against the decision, stating that it would affect the quality of research in the university.
KSU district president P. Mohammad Shammas said that for anyone to be considered for the post of research guide or supervisor, he/she should have worked as an Assistant Professor for two years and should have at least two research papers published in the UGC-CARE List and Scopus Index Journal after receiving PhD.
The present decision by the syndicate was to serve the interests of certain people and to provide them supervisory posts, he said.
Mr. Shammas said that the assessment report had negative remarks on the research works carried out in the university.
The new decision would further dilute research activities.
A senior faculty member, on condition of anonymity, said that after getting PhD, two research papers would have to be published in illustrious publications of the UGC-CARE List and in Scopus Index-Journal.
The syndicate decision would allow faculty members to publish the post-PhD research works in any unreputed publication to get the guideship. This would set an unhealthy trend in research, he said. However, Vice Chancellor Gopinath Ravindran said that the decision was taken to increase the number of supervisors.
It was suggested that not much emphasis be given to publication of research papers and that assessing two good research papers of the faculty member would be enough to grant guideship.
Stating that the university would consider only quality research work, Mr. Ravindran dismissed the allegation that the university was trying to dilute research activities just to serve the interests of some persons.
