80pc of PhD thesis go ‘missing’

By
anjum
-
25
375

The fear of being tagged for plagiarism has meant around 80 percent of Phd scholars at Higher Education Commission (HEC) recognized public and private universities have hidden their thesis, Pakistan Today learnt on Sunday.
A HEC source disclosed that the copies of the Phd thesis of HEC certified scholars were no longer available at the libraries of both public and private sector universities, in contradiction of a rule that a PhD scholar should submit two copies at libraries.
The HEC source said that it was not only local Phds that had hidden their thesis but PhD scholars with foreign universities had picked up their thesis from libraries after the plagiarism scandal became big. He said the issue was highlighted before the HEC authorities but HEC authorities never bothered to ensure that Phd scholars submit their Phd thesis copies at their respective libraries.
Although HEC recognized 74 public and 60 private vestries and administrations has launched Phd programs, a number of candidates having completed their Phd’s in various programs are avoiding to submit copies of their research work at libraries. The HEC rules dictate, PhD candidate must submit one copy at his department and another copy should at the varsity’s main library.
Varsity library and HEC sources said re-knowned faculty members and varsity deans were among those who had borrowed their thesis in last three years and had yet to return it to the libraries.
The ‘hiding-a-Phd’ practice began after a number of plagiarism cases came into light at HEC recognized universities during the last four years. The rise of plagiarism cases meant the HEC installed plagiarism eradication software at varsities to identify plagarised papers. But with the submitted thesis’s missing it appears identifying the plagiarists shall be impossible..
A Punjab University (PU) library official said that a majority of teachers had hidden their thesis while young Phd scholars were not submitting their thesis at varsities. He said that a number of researchers and students come to us us to see the thesis of their teachers but we no longer have copies at the library. He said that a number of teachers, directors and deans had hidden their Phd thesis. However, he said a number of teachers whose research was genuine had submitted their Phd thesis.
The HEC official said that in the past all cases were identified through the faculty or colleagues after personal checks and formal complaints to HEC. However, he said the HEC itself does not have a dedicated team to check and monitor Phd thesis and therefore no one was verifying the presence of Phd thesis in varsity libraries. He said that the problem lay in the weak HEC’s set up since it could not force varsity administrations to ask Phd faculty to submit their thesis to the faculty.
A GCU professor said that the HEC spends huge money on each Phd scholar to promote a research culture at varsities. He said the research of a scholar is a public asset and should be available to the public.
PU Geography department faculty member Professor Munawer Sabir said researchers must look at prior research in a field before they do their own work and it was a tragedy that Pakistan has a culture of hiding Phd thesis. He said that PhD scholars who kept their work hidden should not be allowed benefits on the basis of the research work. He claimed the trend had changed after the appointment of PU VC Dr Mujahid Kamran who has transformed PU culture. He claimed PU faculty ensure their thesis are available at the library.

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25 COMMENTS

  2. i personally know few so called scholars who got there Phd thesis ready made….how? very simple they are teaching at Universities and there students got the Dr prfixed against there names =)) smart isn it?

    • How they could pass the evaluation? In PhD one of the evaluation Committee must be from Foreign University. And if they have published their research means wasn’t ready made. Otherwise Govt should terminate such people and cancel their PhDs.

  3. yes….thesis must be in public libraries…….
    and if there is any case than he has to face……..

  5. Agreed——thesis at any cost shall be available in the library, All the benefits shall be suspended till the availability of thesis

  7. i did nt agree with this whole story…..hows pssible that phd thesis are missing as far i know rather i am sure any university did nt make the students clearance from department, library and laboratory store untill unless he/she should submitt the copies of their thesis to library and controller of examinations…so the above story is totally fake and i must say HEC is a responsible and dedicated commission.

    • Thesis are borrowed or misplaced by the now Professors/ teachers NOT PhD scholars. Therefore it is possible

    • Asma, here we are not talking about the clearance .we are focusing that the so called PhD have done this by themselves as they use to get their PhD thesis from assignments and thesis writers by paying them.
      i knew few people who are doing this job for many scholars (so called)

  9. MS Asma everything is possible in the universities of Pakistan whether Public or private. plagiarism is increasing day by day due to malafide involvement of teachers, deans and heads of department. Now some students are working and facilitating their heads, deans and teachers by selling thesis and synopsis copies and original become missing from libraries. Ready made synopsis price is 20 , 000 and complete thesis price is 60,000 to 80,000 in different varsities and its really most unfortunate for all of us. HEC employers are also involve for selling thesis which is made with the collaboration of other university staff officers. Higher authorities should probe this matter and bring the culprits on front.

  10. May be all is true since 90% of MSc and BSc degrees are fake due to using of cheating. Supervisors alyays demand something either money or …..you know. you do not have choices and so agrees at some point. But who is responsible The HEC who even knowing the Pakistani culture started PhD increase in quantity rather caring for quality. Some supervisor who have publication in international journals does not speak well english,they are like ordinary persons,no cultureal difference,no scholaristic discussion, always looking to find some thing interesting to tease people,bake bite and enjoy young students while having frequest demands saema jadoon

  11. This is usual practice is Pakistan. Professors hide their own thesis first. I have noted that professors are also corrupted even I have noted they give the papers to their student for marking which they get from another universities.

  12. @asma… you are right that student cannot get clearance from university unless submitting thesis at library but in the story it is reported that Deans, and senior faculty have borrowed their thesis from the library and since they are still employees of the institute so they do not need any clearance untill their retirement … and who knows if they return their thesis with pages missing of something else written instead of their phd work? who knows…

  16. not a new story to hide. what they the scholars and professors are doing is but fake work to get some money,get scholarship ,go through shortcuts and do in papaer a lot then nill in reality. Would you believ that a professor is FSc,BSc and MSc in third class and good researcher now. Many are first class and are sitting lazy. many are kept deprived by seniors so let the people do wprse of the research so that few people are not to good reputation.

  17. I remember, it was 1999 when the library in QAU itself hide the MSc, MPhil and PhD thesis of students for the sake of pliagraism. Actually students from other universities, espcially private ones come to QAU. Thesis were in open access for consultancy to every one. These outsiders either make photo copies, or tore the thesis and get important pages out or by any other means they take out the thesis from library and then just by changing labels, terminology and names etc…they published the work for themselves to get the degree. May this is the main reason that the thesis are not available opely to every one. However, there are cases that many students published pliagrised work and they may have hidden their theis from librarries. This is very possible in our country.

    Dr. M.Saeed
    PhD (UK)

  18. a plagiarism may be possible even in foreign Uni. but its percentage is negligible as no process can be ideal while in Pakistan its very hard to find indigenous HEC PhD's scholar without plagiarism. The reality is HEC gives Rs.10000 per month to indigenous PhD. Is this enough can produce research oriented PhD. Comparing to this foreign Universities spend 1000's of dollars (equal to 2-3Crore Rs.) to produce a single PhD, so his research will genuine or not.

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