A need to democratise science

Article in the Indian Express dated October 16, 2019 regarding Research in elite institutions by Milind Sohoni (Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas, IIT Bombay). Link to this article:

http://epaper.indianexpress.com/c/44714931

MU not using UGC plagiarism checker despite reminders

Source: Hindustan Times dated 15.10.2019

-- Priyanka Sahoo

Mumbai : Two months after the University Grants Commission (UGC) made a plagiarism-detection software available to all higher education institutes in the country, the University of Mumbai (MU) is yet to use it despite a series of reminders.

UGC is the apex body that governs all higher educational institutes in the country.

In May, the UGC had issued an exclusive notice to the university for not implementing any anti-plagiarism framework to screen PhD theses submitted by students. Soon after, in August, the UGC made the anti-plagiarism software ‘URKUND’ available on a trial basis to all universities. The trial started on September 1. However, MU is yet to start using the software, said sources in the university.

According to official figures, the university receives around 350 thesis and research papers every year from scholars in its departments, research centres and affiliated colleges. On an average, the university hands out 330 PhDs annually.

However, none of the theses go through a plagiarism check, said a senior professor from the university, on the condition of anonymity. The university had converted its library and thesis department into a cell for anti-plagiarism methods. “The university doesn’t have a digital repository of information on scholars as well as their works. This makes it difficult for the university to screen all PhD theses,” said the professor. Earlier the varsity had planned to purchase licences for Turnitin software, but the plan did not take off. Now that the URKUND software is available for free, utilisation of the software has not started.

University pro vice-chancellor Ravindra Kulkarni was unavailable for a comment. An official from the thesis department said not all theses are being screened, but work has already started.

“We are just starting to use the URKUND software. At the moment, the licence is shared if any faculty member asks for it,” he said, without divulging details on how many faculty members have accessed the licence so far. However, no official communication has come from the university about the use of the software, said professors.

“We have recently purchased the rights for Turnitin software. We are demonstrating it to faculty members. From now on, all theses will go through Turnitin,” said pro vice-chancellor Ravindra Kulkarni.

It is important to note that last year, a city college lecturer had made a complaint of plagiarism against senior Economics professor Neeraj Hatekar. In the absence of an Institutional Academic Integrity Panel (IAIP), the university has formed a new committee to look into the matter.

In yet another violation of the UGC guidelines, not all theses are uploaded on the central repository of Shodhganga. As on date, there are only 214 theses under MU that are uploaded on Shodhganga. “We have started uploading theses on Shodhganga. It will take some time but we will soon upload all the research work,” said an official from the thesis department.

In comparison, other reputed state universities such as Madras University, Anna University, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Benaras Hindu University and Allahabad University, have been using the URKUND or other anti-plagiarism softwares for at least two years now. Most of these universities have special systems allowing one to check any documents for plagiarism.

This is in accordance with the UGC regulations issued in July 2018 on the Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institutions. The UGC asked the universities to set up IAIP to promote academic integrity and to develop systems to detect plagiarism.

According to the apex body, any similarity of over 10 per cent in two documents is considered plagiarism or duplication. The regulatory body also laid down penalties for plagiarism — no penalty for similarities up to 10 per cent; revision of script within six months for similarities above 10 per cent to 40 per cent; debarred from submitting a revised script for a period of one year for similarities above 40 per cent to 60 per cent; cancellation of registration for similarities above 60 per cent.

SIC orders Maha govt to include RTI clause while disbursing funds

Source: DNA dated 28.01.2019

Ashutosh M. Shukla s_ashutosh@dnaindia.net

The state information commission (SIC) in a landmark order has directed the government to put a condition of RTI applicability when giving funds. The order will enable citizens to get information of records of all decisions and works that are related to government funding under RTI. Until now, a number of bodies evaded RTI and giving information stating that they did not get “substantial funding”.

Several schools and colleges said they did not have certain information and that it was with the Trust governing it. The trust would say that RTI is not applicable to it because it did not get any state funding. Now, at the time of funding or registration, a clause will have to be introduced that records all decisions and works related to government funding under the RTI Act.

The SIC order passed on January 9, 2019 is directed to chief secretary, additional chief secretary (school education), secretary of higher and technical education, secretary of medical education and registrar of University of Mumbai. It was passed on by Ajit Kumar Jain, state information commissioner (Brihanmumbai bench) on an appeal of Dr Susy Kuriakose, resident of Prabhadevi. It has to be implemented by February 15, 2019.

“I am yet to get information. The order gives time till February 15. It is a fair order. I think it should bring in more transparency for those who are working in aided colleges,” said Kuriakose.

DNA could not get in touch with BVB. D K Jain, chief secretary said, “We are processing the directions”.

Kuriakose had sought information from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB) regarding meeting of governing committee, the notice of the meeting, agenda, minutes of meeting and report sent to the college in which her suspension and removal was decided. During the second appeal hearing, the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan stated that the RTI is not applicable to it.

‘Justice’ is Webster’s word of the year

Source: Times of India dated 18.12.18

Racial justice. Obstruction of justice. Social justice. The Justice Department. Merriam-Webster has chosen “justice” as its 2018 word of the year, driven by the churning news cycle over months and months.

The word follows “toxic”, picked by Oxford Dictionaries, and “misinformation”, plucked by Dictonary.com.

Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at large, said on Monday that “justice” consistently bubbled into the top 20 or 30 lookups on the company’s website, spiking at times due to specific events but also skating close to the surface for much of the year.

While it’s a common word people likely know how to spell and use correctly, Sokolowski pointed to other reasons that drive search traffic. Among them is an attempt to focus a train of thought around a philosophical problem, or to seek motivation.

The designation for “justice” came soon after President Trump’s ex-fixer, Michael Cohen, was sentenced to three years in prison for crimes that included arranging the payment of hush money to conceal his boss’ alleged sexual affairs. He told a judge he agreed to cover up Trump’s “dirty deeds” out of “blind loyalty”.

Earlier in the year, Kim Kardashian visited the White House twice to discuss prison and sentencing reform with Trump. Sentencing for drug crimes, a loosening of cannabis laws, a Tesla probe, the Mueller investigation into the Trump campaign: Justice will remain top of mind into the new year.

Often, when Trump tweets about the department of justice, he uses simply “Justice”. On August 1, when he tweeted his wish for then-AG Jeff Sessions to stop the Mueller probe, searches spiked significantly. Searches for “justice” throughout the year, when compared to 2017, were up 74% on the site , Sokolowski said.

UGC sets up body to prepare list of academic journals

Source: Hindustan Times dated 29.11.2018. Article by Amandeep Shukla

NEWDELHI: To curb the practice of academics getting papers included in so-called predatory journals (as dubious or sub-standard publications are called) instead of focusing on quality research, higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) has formed a consortium of academic bodies to prepare and maintain a list of credible journals.

The step was taken after reports highlighted that the high number of papers being published in poor quality journals in India, adversely affecting the country’s image, UGC said in a note.

Named Consortium for Academic Research Ethics (CARE), the body, headed by UGC Vice Chairman Bhushan Patwardhan will prepare a list of journals in the field of social sciences, humanities, languages, arts, culture and Indian knowledge systems etc.

According to a communiqué by UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain, the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR), Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Sahitya Academy, Lalit Kala Academy, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) etc will be among the several bodies which will be members of the consortium.

Members of the consortium will prepare the list of quality journals in their respective disciplines within a defined timeframe, it said. Once the CARE reference list of quality journals is released, it will replace the existing UGC list of approved journals, the regulator said.

The decision was taken at the UGC meeting earlier this month, the communiqué said.

“Publications in dubious substandard journals lead to long term academic damage and tarnishing of image. Research articles published in poor quality journals is reported to be high in India, which has adversely affected its image,” Jain said in the note. The number of research articles is an important factor in both institutional rankings as well as individual promotions.

UGC revamps system to weed out dodgy research paper shops

News article in the Indian Express dated 29.11.2018 regarding the revamp of UGC system to weed out dodgy research paper shops by Shyamlal Yadav. Link to this article:
http://epaper.indianexpress.com/c/34424731

Misinformation is Dictionary.com’s word of the year

Source: Times of India dated 27.11.2018

Misinformation, as opposed to disinformation, was chosen on Monday as Dictionary.com’s word of the year on the tattered coattails of “toxic,” picked earlier this month for the same honour by Oxford Dictionaries in these tumultuous times.
Jane Solomon, a linguist-in-residence at Dictionary, said in a recent interview that her site’s choice of “mis” over “dis” was deliberate, intended to serve as a “call to action” to be vigilant in the battle against fake news, flat earthers and anti-vaxxers, among other conduits. It’s the idea of intent, whether to inadvertently mislead or to do it on purpose, that the Oakland, California-based company wanted to highlight. The company decided it would go high when others have spent much of 2018 going low. AP

‘Misinformation’ ruled this year: Dictionary.com

Source: DNA dt. 27.11.2018

Misinformation, as opposed to disinformation, was chosen on Monday as Dictionary.com’s word of the year on the tattered coattails of “toxic,” picked earlier this month for the same honour by Oxford Dictionaries in these tumultuous times.

Jane Solomon, a linguist-in-residence at Dictionary, said in a recent interview that her site’s choice of “mis” over “dis” was deliberate, intended to serve as a “call to action” to be vigilant in the battle against fake news, flat-earthers and anti-vaxxers, among other conduits.

It’s the idea of intent, whether to inadvertently mislead or to do it on purpose, that the Oakland, California-based company wanted to highlight. The company decided it would go high when others have spent much of 2018 going low.

“The rampant spread of misinformation is really providing new challenges for navigating life in 2018,” Solomon told The Associated Press ahead of the word of the year announcement. “Misinformation has been around for a long time, but over the last decade or so the rise of social media has really, really changed how information is shared. We believe that understanding the concept of misinformation is vital to identifying misinformation as we encounter it in the wild, and that could ultimately help curb its impact.”

In studying lookups on the site that trended this year, Dictionary noticed “our relationship with the truth is something that came up again and again,” she said.

For example, the word “mainstream” popped up a lot, spiking in January as the term “mainstream media,” or MSM, grew to gargantuan proportions, wielded as an insult by some on the political right. Other words swirling around the same problem included a lookup surge in February for “white lie” after Hope Hicks, then White House communications director, admitted to telling a few for President Donald Trump.

The word “Orwellian” surfaced in heavy lookups in May, after a statement attributed to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused the Chinese government of “Orwellian nonsense” in trying to impose its views on American citizens and private companies when it declared that United Airlines, American Airlines and other foreign carriers should refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as part of China in public-facing materials, such as their websites.

Misinformation, Solomon said, “frames what we’ve all been through in the last 12 months.” In that vein, the site with 90 million monthly users has busied itself adding new word entries for “filter bubble,” ‘’fake news,” ‘’post-fact,” ‘’post-truth” and “homophily,” among others. Other word entries on the site have been freshened to reflect timely new meanings, including “echo chamber.”

The company’s runners-up for the top honour include “representation” driven by the popularity of the movies “Black Panther” and “Crazy Rich Asians,” along with wins during the US midterm elections for Muslim women, Native Americans and LGBTQ candidates.

But the rise of misinformation, Solomon said, stretches well beyond US borders and Facebook’s role in disseminating fake news and propaganda in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. —AP

Skill India is ailing

An article about problems in vocational training in India by Ashok Thakur and S. S. Mantha in the Indian Express dated 17.11.2018. Link to this article:

http://epaper.indianexpress.com/c/34053496

Law students can write exams as per old rules

Source DNA dated 14.11.2018, p.2

After the Bombay High Court stayed the 60:40 exam pattern, i.e., 60 marks for theory and 40 for practicals, for law course this year, the Mumbai University has withdrawn its August circular on introducing a new exam pattern. This has brought great relief to the students who were against the newly-introduced pattern.

According to law students, a paucity of faculty in law colleges will make it difficult for the new pattern to be implemented successfully, since it lays stress on internal examinations.

Parthsarthi Saraf, a third-year student of GJ Advani Law College in Bandra, had filed a writ petition in October against the new exam pattern.

He added, “If the university wants to introduce the 60:40 exam pattern, they should rope in full-time faculties first. The lack of full-time faculties in Mumbai University law colleges will make implementation of this pattern impossible.”

Echoing the sentiments of Saraf, Sachin Pawar, an LLM student, said, “Mumbai University has issued a circular for all law professors asking them to follow Bombay High Court’s order and conduct law exams for the academic year 2018-19 as per the prevailing system. However, we are desperately waiting to get the new timetable. We have also written to the Vice Chancellor to bring to his notice that the law exams should not clash with company secretary exams, which will begin from December 20.”

An official from Mumbai University said, “The university has decided to issue a new timetable in the next two to three days. As soon as the HC stayed the new exam pattern, the university announced it has been postponed.

Uniformity needed for admissions in universities

Uniformity needed for admissions in universities
Source: DNA, November 13, 2018

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has said that the Maharashtra government needs to have a uniform mechanism of the admission process for students in all its universities.

A division bench of Justices B R Gavai and M S Karnik observed earlier this month that there is a disparity in the admission process in some educational institutions.

It was hearing petitions filed by two students challenging decisions of two different colleges for refusing them admission to masters course in law.

According to the petitioners, they had inadvertently mentioned marks secured by them in the final year of their graduation instead of the average marks secured during their three-year degree course.

The bench noted that there is a disparity in the procedure followed in different colleges and universities on the issue of which marks are to be taken into consideration.

“On account of this disparity, students are suffering,” the court said.

In some universities, the marks obtained only in the last year are considered as those obtained in the graduation while some universities consider the average of the marks obtained in all the years’ examinations, as the final marks, it said.

“We find it appropriate that at least in all the universities, which are under the control of Maharashtra state, there should be some uniform practice on this issue. One uniform mechanism needs to be followed for admission procedure,” the court said.

The bench also said that a “hyper-technical” approach should not be adopted by universities and colleges while giving admissions to students of various courses. —PTI

Student is a consumer, can file complaint

Source: Times of India dt. 10th November 2019, p.5

Student is a consumer, can file complaint

Jehangir B Gai

Aditya was a student studying in Oberoi International School, Goregaon. As the school had refused to allow him to appear for his exams, his mother filed a complaint before the Mumbai Suburban District Consumer Forum alleging deficiency in service and unfair trade practice.

The Forum dismissed the complaint on the ground that a student cannot be considered a consumer. Aditya’s mother challenged this order and argued her own appeal in person. She pointed out there were several precedents in which a student had been held to be a consumer.

The Maharashtra State Commission pointed out that conduct of exams by statutory boards was not considered to be a service-,but in the absence of any legal binding, it would be incorrect to hold a student is not a consumer. Besides, there were several rulings of the National Commission as well as the Supreme Court where it had been held that failure to adhere to the guidelines of the University Grants Commission constituted an unfair trade practice, and suitable relief was granted to students under the Consumer Protection Act.

In its order of November 1 delivered by Justice A P Bhangale for the bench along with A K Zade, the Commission held since the law did not debar a student from redressing his grievance before the consumer fora, the complaint ought to have been adjudicated on merit. The complaint was remanded back to the Forum to decide whether or not the school was responsible for deficiency in service or unfair trade or restrictive trade practice.

Conclusion: A student can approach the consumer forum against educational institutions which make bogus claims of affiliation, commit breach of University Grants Commission guidelines, misrepresent about the available infrastructure, or any other grievance which can be termed deficiency in service or unfair or restrictive trade practice.

(The author is a consumer activist and has won the Govt.of India's National Youth Award for Consumer Protection. His email is jehangir.gai.columnist@outlook.in)