Ph.D Programmes Offered By Edtech Players Not Recognised: UGC, AICTE

The University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council For Technical Education (AICTE) on Friday (October 28) said that online Ph.D programmes offered by edtech players in collaboration with foreign institutes were not recognised. 

In a public notice, they warned students against ‘misleading’ advertisements for such Ph.D programmes offered by edtech players.

“Students and public, at large, are hereby advised not to be misled by advertisements for online Ph.D programmes offered by edtech companies in collaboration with foreign educational institutes. Such online Ph.D. programmes are not recognized by UGC,” the notice said. 

The advisory also directed students to do due diligence before applying for such programmes and asked the general public to ‘verify the authenticity’ of such Ph.D. programmes as per the existing norms and regulations. 

Reiterating their stance, the education bodies said it was mandatory for all higher educational institutions (HEls) to follow UGC norms for awarding Ph.D degrees. 

“In order to maintain the standards for the award of Ph.D. degrees, the UGC has notified UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of M.Phil/Ph.D. Degrees) Regulations, 2016,” the advisory added. 

The move is likely to deal a major blow to many of the edtech players that have tied up with foreign universities to offer courses that appear similar to Ph.Ds, but are not, including degrees such as ‘Doctorate of Business Administration’. 

EdTech Sector Under Scanner

This follows a long line of crackdown on edtech startups for overselling products and unfair business practices. In July, the government warned edtech players of stringent measures if they failed to incorporate measures to curb unfair trade practices. 

In its annual complaints report released earlier this year, the Advertising Standards Council of India found that the education sector emerged as the largest violator of advertising code between April 2021 and March 2022, accounting for 33% of the total 7,631 complaints.

Earlier this year, the Centre also formulated a panel to probe exorbitant claims made by edtech platforms. Right after that, the UGC also directed higher educational institutions (HEls) to withdraw any degree or diploma programmes offered in partnership with edtech companies.

The latest advisory comes as another blow to the edtech industry which is already reeling under the impact of the funding winter and dwindling edtech user base. 

Many startups in the sector have resorted to layoffs to increase their runway. Indian edtech players have laid off over 7,000 employees in 2022 so far. Despite this, the space continues to present a burgeoning opportunity for startups such as BYJU’S, Unacademy and Vedantu which continue to lead the space. 

According to an Inc42 report, the Indian edtech sector is anticipated to reach a market size of $10.4 Bn by 2025.