"It is increasingly seeming unfeasible to pursue a PhD from India," said Zuhair (name changed), a PhD scholar (programme withheld on request) from Jamia Milia Islamia University.
In most countries, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree which usually takes between four-five years to complete, is considered to be the highest degree in education. Expectedly, it takes an inordinate amount of time and effort to earn a PhD.
In lieu of jobs, most of these scholars who are in their late 20s or early 30s depend on fellowships for sustenance while they carry on with their research. Capital-intensive field work requires money, and students have had to borrow from friends, family, and supervisors, due to the delay.
More often than not, the pursuit of fellowship stipends itself turns into an undignified process.
Delays in Stipends Have Final Year PhD Students on the Edge
Zuhair, 28, who is now in his final year of PhD in Delhi, complained that he and several of his batchmates haven't receive their University Grant Commission (UGC) fellowships for the past five months despite filing all their paperwork on time.
There are several fellowships available for doctoral students but students have repeatedly been complaining about the Junior and Senior Research Fellowships (JRF and SRF), which are granted by the UGC to MPhil and PhD students who have cleared the National Eligibility Testing (NET).
Those who are entitled to the JRF or SRF receive a small stipend of between Rs 31,000 to Rs 35,000 per month for a total of five years along with HRA which varies from state to state. The disbursal of stipends, however, is often marred by delays and bureaucratic hurdles.
"Claiming the fellowship sum involves a tedious process of getting documents signed and seeking approvals. All of this has to be done in the first 15 days of the month. Despite doing all this, the stipend still doesn't come in on time. Am I supposed to run around for the stipend or finish my work?"Zuhair, Final Year PhD from Jamia Milia Islamia University
Many PhD scholars who are in the final stages of their thesis submission are finding themselves stretched out between the lack of funds and deadlines.
(Photo: Chetan Bhakuni/The Quint)
This situation has put a lot of pressure on those who are in the final stages of their PhD.
Zuhair had started his PhD in 2017 but his work faced setbacks in 2019 after anti-CAA and NRC protests broke out in Delhi.
"My work is on water governance which requires me to conduct research on ground in and around Delhi. After the anti-CAA protests in the capital and the subsequent Delhi Riots of 2020, I couldn't introduce myself as a PhD student from Jamia because people's attitudes would turn hostile," he said.
Then came the COVID-19 mandated lockdowns which led to the shutdown of almost all educational institutions.
With only months away from his PhD submission, Zuhair has had to double up on his research work to make up for the time lost. Without his stipend, he has had to rely on borrowing money from his parents.
“My field work got stalled because of COVID in 2020. As I am trying to wrap up my work now in the final months of my PhD, I am in a dire need of funds. My field work is a very capital-intensive but I haven’t received my UGC fellowship for five months now. Recently, my course supervisor had to lend me Rs 5,000."Zuhair, Final Year PhD Student, Jamia Milia Islamia
A Hit to Dignity
The aim of disbursing JRF and SRF fellowships, as the UGC says, is to “provide opportunities to NET-qualified candidates to undertake advanced studies and research leading to MPhil/PhD Degrees in Humanities and Social Sciences including Languages and Sciences.”
"Research students are not treated with the dignity they deserve," lamented Alice (name changed), who is in her final year of PhD (programme withheld on request) from Delhi University.
“NET-JRF is a tough exam to crack and one expects basic dignity after clearing it. The fellowship amount, however, is not disbursed directly into accounts. The process of filing for our fellowships is a cumbersome one and what makes matters worse is that the money comes in late due to red-tapism.Alice, Final Year PhD, Delhi University
Doctoral students have complained that the paperwork for getting monthly stipends is a cumbersome process which is marred with red-tapism.
(Photo: Chetan Bhakuni/The Quint)
To avoid the dependency on fellowships for living expenses, Alice has opted for full-time teaching gigs as an Ad Hoc professor. A full-time job and PhD simultaneously, however, is not an easy task.
"I realised that JRF was not going to work for me because it doesn't come on time. So, instead of the JRF I chose to take up a teaching job as a professor in a college. Now that I am working full-time, my research work is stuck, and my submission deadline is close.”
Many Students Keen on Leaving India For Other Opportunities: Study
These delays in disbursing of the stipends have been impacting doctoral scholars for years but it got worse in the pandemic, with several students complaining a delay in receiving fellowships for almost a year.
A survey conducted in 2020 by the Indian National Young Academy of Sciences (INYAS) to find out how doctoral students were impacted during the COVID period financially and educationally, came out with some worrying findings.
According to the findings, more than 40 percent of India’s PhD scholars, mostly in state-run institutions, failed to make any progress in their work due to pandemic. Fellowships for 54 percent of the scholars had discontinued before they could complete their theses.
Almost 28 percent of the respondents had not received financial support from their institutes, and only 14 percent were partially funded since March 2020. About 6 percent had reported to resorting to seeking financial help from their supervisors or guides.
About 36 percent of the respondents said they were keen to leave India in search of opportunities to further their academic work or to find jobs in another country.
Economically and Socially Marginalised Students Worst Hit
The struggle is worse for scholars who come from economically and socially unprivileged backgrounds.
Rakhi, a Dalit PhD scholar from Jawaharlal Nehru University, said that her decision to quit her teaching job and pursue higher education wasn't supported by her family. She solely depends on her stipend to pursue her PhD but for the last one-and-a-half year, her fellowship has been stuck.
"To assert my choices and carry on with my Masters and PhD, I had to ensure that I had complete financial independence, so I could take care of rent, food, and internet bills. But I haven't received my stipend for around 1.5 years," she added.
When asked how she managed to sustain herself in these months, Rakhi said:
"I had to take up random jobs that didn't pay much. Eventually I resorted to borrowing money from my parents but this constant financial crisis is exhausting and demotivating. Sometimes the UGC disburses stipend of many months together, and almost immediately it goes away in just repaying my debts to friends and family."Rakhi, PhD Student, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Toll on Mental Health
The hardships involved in getting a PhD has also been known to impact scholars' mental health as well.
The pressure of doing a PhD alone had been a contributing reason for four student suicides in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru between 2020 and 2021. The financial strains also end up taking a toll on scholars.
The hardships involved in getting a PhD has also been known to impact scholars' mental health as well.
(Photo: Chetan Bhakuni/The Quint)
Debajyoti Guha, a third year PhD student of Physical Science Department, IISER, said that the financial crunch is often a big source of depression for students.
“Most PhD students are in their late 20s. Instead of taking up jobs, they are doing PhDs and their families are often dependent on fellowships. So, the shortage of funds ends up becoming a pretty serious cause of depression. There should be an extension of fellowship for everybody because of COVID."Debajyoti Guha, IIIrd Year PhD, Physical Science Department, IISER
UGC Grants Extensions for Submission But Not Fellowship Tenures
While some students are struggling with delays in their fellowships, others are unable to complete their research as the tenure of their fellowship has expired.
According to the INYAS survey almost 54 percent of the respondents said that their fellowships were discontinued in the COVID period before they could complete their thesis. Almost 47 percent of the remaining had between six months to a year of fellowship tenure left, with most reporting they would be unable to complete their thesis in that time.
Once the tenure of the fellowship expires, it can't be extended and this poses a big problem for those whose PhD submissions have been delayed due to COVID.
The UGC granted an extension of six months beyond 30 June 2022 for submission of MPhil or PhD thesis, in view of the interruptions to education caused by COVID-19. In a recent notice, it granted a further extension of six months beyond June 30 for thesis submission on a "case-to-case basis".
The caveat, however, is that "the tenure of the fellowship will remain up to five years only".
This means that students would have the time to finish their PhDs but not the money required to sustain them during this period.
“The COVID period was hard for everybody including students. People who needed experimental set-ups or field work faced a big delay in their work. I actually know some people whose work has been so delayed that their fellowships will end but their PhDs will still take a lot of time. The institute tries its best to give a subsistence allowance but that’s not regular. It’s a completely mismanaged system. I feel that fellowships should be extended for all so that students can cope."Debajyoti Guha, IIIrd Year PhD, Physical Science Department, IISER
In 2020, Research Scholars of India which is a national level association of JRF, SRF and PhD scholars had even written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding regularisation of disbursal of their stipends.
With students still complaining about delays, it appears that this issue hasn't been addressed seriously.
“Scholars need financial support. You cannot assume privilege. The work of scholars is intangible but important for building social infrastructure. If a scholar is worried about their salary or next meal, how will they carry on with their academic work,” asked Alice.
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