“Too many PhD programmes are producing an excess of doctoral holders for available positions. Either close some down or transform the rest,” argues Younus M Bhatt.
India’s doctoral education framework, like that of many nations worldwide, has reached an untenable point that requires comprehensive transformation. Frequently, it creates a cruel fantasy for scholars, advancing professors’ personal interests while neglecting students’ welfare. The truth remains stark: employment opportunities are severely limited for individuals who may have dedicated up to 10 years pursuing their qualifications.
The majority of India’s doctoral training programmes follow Western educational models established during the twentieth century. Originally conceived as a structure for preparing future academics, this framework has progressively transformed into a production line generating doctorate candidates whose prospects of securing appropriate academic appointments grow increasingly remote. Notwithstanding India’s swift economic expansion and technological progress, employment prospects for PhD graduates have not kept pace. Rather, numerous scholars find themselves in short-term teaching contracts or completely unrelated professions, including data processing, management roles, or private advisory services, adding to the substantial joblessness among doctorate holders nationwide.
The guest faculty system exemplifies this crisis most starkly. PhD holders find themselves trapped in temporary teaching positions earning between ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 monthly—barely sufficient for basic survival—while managing workloads exceeding those of permanent staff. These scholars, often crossing the 35-40-year age threshold that renders them ineligible for regular recruitment, find themselves stranded: too specialized to transition into business, lacking capital for entrepreneurship, yet unable to sustain themselves on meager compensation. The psychological and financial toll proves devastating, with depression and anxiety becoming common among this exploited academic underclass.
Educational institutions confront escalating monetary difficulties. The overwhelming majority of Indian universities, despite their growing numbers, remain affected by economic troubles from recent decades, resulting in limited investment in the education sector. Consequently, governmental funding at state and national levels continues to decline, whilst private academic establishments charging substantial fees progressively control the landscape. These commercial institutions face challenges in maintaining standards whilst predominantly focusing on profit-oriented approaches that prioritize financial returns over pedagogical principles.
The University Grants Commission’s regulations, though well-intentioned, have worsened matters. The University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedure for the Award of the Ph.D. Degree) Regulations have created unintended consequences, with stringent publication mandates for PhD scholars spawning a predatory publishing industry in which candidates desperately pad their CVs with low-quality papers in dubious journals rather than conducting meaningful research. Conversely, the recent removal of mandatory publication requirements for degree awards now allows thesis submission without any peer-reviewed validation, potentially compromising research quality and rigor. The Academic Performance Indicator (API) system has degraded scholarship into a points-chasing exercise, rewarding quantity over intellectual substance. Meanwhile, financial constraints have encouraged universities to avoid creating regular positions, instead relying on exploitative guest arrangements.
Two primary pathways exist: either fundamentally restructure doctoral programmes or discontinue them completely.
Among the challenges within India’s present framework are both pedagogical and organizational elements. Numerous doctoral programmes lack proper correspondence with society’s evolving requirements. During an age in which technological innovations are reshaping entire industries, the focus of most doctoral programmes remains predominantly conceptual, with study plans often separated from applied and current realities.
Much doctoral research produces work of questionable value—dissertations investigating questions no one asked, arriving at conclusions that change nothing. Library shelves overflow with studies that merely replicate existing work in different contexts or apply frameworks that have already been exhausted. This epidemic of redundant research stems from inadequate supervision, pressure to complete within arbitrary timeframes, and disconnection from societal needs. India confronts urgent challenges in agriculture, healthcare, education, infrastructure, and social cohesion. Yet, doctoral research often remains self-referential, speaking only to narrow academic circles and failing to translate into policy recommendations or practical solutions.
Specialized knowledge within particular scholarly domains holds value, yet doesn’t necessarily fulfill the competencies society or the marketplace demands. To illustrate, whilst the need for investigation into artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain technology intensifies, most Indian doctoral programmes maintain a strong emphasis on conventional fields, including history, sociology, and literature, with minimal incorporation of emerging cross-disciplinary domains.
India also faces difficulties with excessive specialization in research, in which scholars frequently invest years in narrow areas that often become increasingly outdated. The administration, despite promoting initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ and technological advancement, remains reluctant to reorganize its higher education framework to sustain a knowledge-driven economy. Simultaneously, academic staff perpetuate research priorities that serve their personal scholarly needs rather than address community needs. Recently, certain initiatives have emerged to address these concerns, including encouragement of enhanced interdisciplinary research and strengthened partnerships between commercial sectors and educational institutions, though these endeavors remain sporadic at best.
Should doctoral training remain viable throughout the twenty-first century, Indian educational institutions must reconsider their approach to PhD programmes. Institutions must encourage interdisciplinary and commercially oriented investigation, dismantling conventional divisions separating domains such as engineering, commerce, and liberal arts. One potential transformation approach involves aligning doctoral preparation more closely with emerging industries, including artificial intelligence, sustainable energy, and digital humanities—domains experiencing rapid expansion where specialized knowledge is in urgent demand.
Reform requires addressing the exploitation of guest faculty immediately. Long-serving temporary faculty must be converted to permanent positions, and guest appointments should offer proportional compensation, benefits, and multi-year contracts. Age limits for recruitment must be relaxed or abolished for doctoral holders who have invested years in quality research. The UGC must reconsider publication mandates, emphasizing research quality over quantity, and universities should combat predatory publishing while supporting legitimate open-access alternatives.
India’s employment landscape has grown progressively fluid, with sectors such as technology, life sciences, and financial services flourishing. However, many doctoral recipients find themselves inadequately equipped to meet these industries’ requirements. Educational institutions must establish additional avenues for doctoral scholars to gain hands-on expertise in these sectors through apprenticeships, joint research initiatives, and alliances with technology companies such as Infosys, TCS, and contemporary enterprises in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Furthermore, an enhanced focus on international partnerships and digital instruction becomes necessary. The COVID-19 outbreak has expedited the transition to distance learning, with institutions adopting online platforms and creating opportunities for international scholarly interaction. Virtual conferencing and online partnerships could connect research centers, professors, and business sectors, rendering PhD training more pertinent and productive.
The financial difficulties confronting India’s higher education system worsen due to its failure to produce graduates with competencies directly aligned with commercial requirements. This proves particularly accurate for doctoral scholars who frequently experience separation from the financial and technological transformations reshaping India’s career marketplace. Modernizing curricula is essential, as is redefining the scholarly recognition associated with doctoral degrees. Educational institutions must strive to align their offerings with India’s expanding technological economy rather than perpetuating antiquated concepts of academic distinction.
Ultimately, the expanding pattern of digital learning and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) presents alternatives to conventional doctoral trajectories. Numerous institutions and services, including Coursera, edX, and NPTEL (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning), are currently pioneers in providing adaptable, commercially applicable programs that can equip scholars with the competencies necessary for the coming years. These services could supplement conventional doctoral training, offering a combined framework that emphasizes the applied implementation of understanding rather than exclusively scholarly investigation.
Whilst doctorate programme numbers throughout India continue to increase, the existing framework is unmistakably unsustainable. Exclusively through reconsidering and reorganizing doctoral training, can India guarantee the production of graduates possessing not merely scholarly capability but also commercial preparedness and the capacity to confront tomorrow’s economic challenges? The human cost—brilliant minds trapped in exploitative employment, mental health crises, wasted potential—demands urgent attention alongside institutional reform.
The writer is currently affiliated with Pondicherry University and is a researcher, a DST-INSPIRE Fellow, CSIR-NET qualified, a Gold medalist, and an author. yunusbhat586@gmail.com.
