What a brilliant idea! Move over, Einstein! Hail O Srinvasa-Raghava, Conqueror Of Universes!
Of course the main idea of the PhD is that it certifies that the recipient has demonstrated a capability for ORIGINAL THOUGHT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF IDEAS.
Obviously that would make no sense to the author or most of the fine Einsteins here on the REDIFF forum.
RE:Writing is so much easier than thinking
by vivek trivedi on Jan 19, 2008 12:07 AM Permalink
i completely agree with you. i am a PhD student and this idea doesnt make any sense as doing PhD doesnt mean getting a degree, it takes 3-5 years of a much qualified person and basically what you learn is implementation of each and everything what you have done so far. PhD develops candidate's thinking process and how to put that in practical. i think if you will start having expiry date on PhD then you got do that with all undergraduate degrees as well, as knowledge (taught in UGs) does expire as time goes on but my general perception is that all PhDs remain quite active and try to keep themselves upto date with the curreent research and developments....
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Dear Mr Raghavan, Your idea is nice and novel but totally idoitic and illogical because of the narrow scope of the subject you have chosen. Why only Ph.Ds? In that case all academic & non-academic qualifications for all jobs should have different expiry dates according to circumstances.First try to see how to eliminate outdated politicicans and outdated drugs from circulation. Then come down to other qualifications, of course after getting a Ph.D for yourself.Good luck!
RE:Expiry date for Ph.D
by awadh yadav on Jan 18, 2008 11:12 PM Permalink
Hi Everyone here, I am too a PhD student currently doing my PhD from a premier research institution in india. Author here point out a topic about who dont has any idea. I think he dont has idea of procedure to get enrolled for PhD in india. Eligibilty for doing PhD from good research instituion in india is first you complete your Post Graduation in Science /Art subject, in the case of thats you must qualify NET (National eligibility test) or GATE (Graduate aptitude test in engenearing) then you appear for interview and writen test in all indian primer institute (CDRI, NII, AIIMS, NCBS & ISSc etc.). After geting enrolment in PhD course you needed to do hard work atleast 4-5 years ( in our case we working in lab daily 10-12 hrs some day 18 hrs too), after completing your work sucessfully you able to in condition to submit thesis for PhD award and then going through examener and finally get PhD award. In the case of Science its very taugh but we thinks its good. But when you comparing job opertunity after PhD in india in science there is not too much scope or not good salery in thats case we dont have any option to work here. Because you just compare after completing B.Tech here in ndia any one easilly get 18-20 thousant in starting & in the case of PhD in science you hardlly get 18 thousend (in teaching ) only some industry provided better salery in the case of M. Pharm PhD anf in chemistry students. For other students no scope here thats why they looks abrod for PDF (post doct
RE:Expiry date for Ph.D
by vijay rao on Jan 18, 2008 11:08 PM Permalink
Why only Ph Ds? Mr Raghavan in his intellectual brilliance can add Engineers, IAS, IPS, IFS, CA's, Medicine, IIM, IIt, CAY, GMAT, TOEFL, SAT etc , for such an examination !!!
RE:RE:Expiry date for Ph.D
by vijay rao on Jan 18, 2008 11:11 PM Permalink
Mr Raghaan can also prescribe reservations for such exams and also provide for exclusions/exemptions!
RE:Expiry date for Ph.D
by ALOK DHOTEKAR on Jan 18, 2008 11:11 PM Permalink
It seems you are PhD holder and are fearing the obvious if this suggestion is taken ahead...
Let this thought be discussed at large.... lets hear all and then decide if this suggestion need be favoured or discarded....
If any body excels in a qualifying exam or attains a highest degree or phd this really entitles him for some initial reward in the form of a job or promotion or recognition.Subsequently after some period even if some body does not perform to a level that is half of his peer's with lesser comparable degrees , is he to be considered for all those cudos and benifits ? Definitely not.
I really appreciate such an article that has tried to bring out the sallowness of PHDs in our country (for most of the cases). Somebody does an ordinary project in a top scientfic organisation in our country and says it is a new field few people knows it and he ceverly binds it and pushes it for a PHD.
Let some body not question me . If my conscience allowed I would have produced such bogus Phds quite few. By this I do not denounce all the Phds let me assure. These are matters of fact, that in our country such things are happenning.
Why we have to give so much of importance to these Babus in our country and place them in any industry and organisation headng them just because they have the ability to play foul games.
All these scenarios coupled with the need for more money by most of these less paid lazy govt officials (not all of them) is really spoiling the scope for real deserving and continuosly better performing simple and capable guys in the govt. Thanks to the corporate India to-day that has given an opportunity to a great extent for the well performers with so
I am working in IIT. Not as a staff, but as a faculty. So, I know what the efforts a PhD would require. For the information of the author of this article (I am of the opinion that the readers are more intelligent than this author), the IIT system requires each faculty to prove his mettle before getting a promotion, mere experience or seniority is not enough. He/she should prove that they can teach, do research and guide masters and doctoral students.
If the author is suggesting the 'brilliant' idea of having an expiry date for a PhD, why not have an expiry date for SSLC or HSC exams too? I am sure not even 1/2 of us will find it hard to take the exam again without attending the classes.
I have one more question for the author...How can you correlate statistics for economics manuscripts in the US with engineering and technology research in India, and that too just on the basis of a statement of one economist (who has a good chance of being 'third-rate' himself).
Further, the authors point on number of reviewers is flawed. I review more than 10 papers per year for 4 to 5 different publications. So, you would need only 300,000 reviewers, not 300,000.
It is disgusting that rediff is encouraging such articles, which insult the intelligence of the reader.
RE:Ill informed author and his idiotic suggestion
by Ajay Maruti Chole on Jan 18, 2008 10:40 PM Permalink
This article is all non-sense. Hope Rediff will take care before they publish like this one. Author's all degrees should be taken back..looks they are expired as he lacks in basic understanding of a "degree"!
RE:Ill informed author and his idiotic suggestion
by Ajay Chole on Jan 18, 2008 10:44 PM Permalink
I really agree with Prof.Sivaramakrishnan with full support.
RE:Ill informed author and his idiotic suggestion
by Manu on Jan 18, 2008 10:50 PM Permalink
you can not call anybody's feeling "non-sense"... defend it.. if u could that's all..
RE:Ill informed author and his idiotic suggestion
by Ajay Chole on Jan 19, 2008 12:25 AM Permalink
I have read the article and it makes no sense...you may start from the title itself.
PhD ( especially in INdia) is about plagiarism, manipulating numbers in the results and so on. They have not contributed anything to India. PHD should be abolished altogether in India. If anybody wants to do it, let him do it in the west. We are just wasting time money efforts and not getting anything in return. When is the last time we heard anybody in INdia doing great research? List the scientific contributions made by IITs/IIMs. Show me one rural technology that is developed in India specifically to meet the needs of its own poor people.
Do know what is the amount that is being spent in research in India? Not even 1/50 of USA. I agree that there a lot of wastage of funds. But for this reason you can not stop the funds to the people. Instead ruthlessly axe the non-performers.
It is also important make all the university / research institute jobs should be for 5 years and reviewed after this time. This model is largely successful in west.
I am a Ph.D research scholar, those who got their Ph.d s years before lack of knowledge about current technology. A Ph.D holder must think it is his/her own responsibility to update themselves in their own field.
