Mumbai University to frame anti-plagiarism guidelines based
on UGC rules, set up panel to curb problem
India FP Staff Sep 11, 2018 17:57:37 IST
The Mumbai University is set to formulate its own guidelines
to tackle plagiarism based on the rules given by the University Grants
Commission (UGC) in August this year.
The Times of India reported that the varsity has decided to
acquire a plagiarism software and that a committee will be formed to put the
guidelines in place.
In August 2018, the Ministry of Human Resource Development
(HRD) approved new regulations on plagiarism drafted by the UGC. The 'UGC
(Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher
Education Institutions) Regulations, 2018 prescribe graded punishment for
plagiarism.
UGC regulations against plagiarism
The guidelines laid down penalties for both, students and
professors found with plagiarised content. A large extent of plagiarism could
result in the loss of registration in the course for the student, and dismissal
from job for the teacher.
For students, plagiarism of up to 10 percent would not
invite any penalty, while that of between 10 percent and 40 percent would mean
the students have to submit a revised research paper within six months. In case
the similarities are between 40 percent and 60 percent, students will be
debarred from submitting a revised paper for one year. However, for plagiarism
of more than 60 percent, a student's registration for a programme will be
cancelled.
Teachers whose academic and research papers have
similarities ranging from 10 percent to 40 percent with other papers will be
asked to withdraw the manuscript. In case the similarities are between 40
percent and 60 percent, they will not be allowed to supervise new masters,
MPhil, PhD students for two years and will also be denied the right to one
annual increment, it said. In case of repeat plagiarism of over 60 percent
similarity, the faculty members will be suspended, even dismissed.
The new regulations prescribe that if any member of the
academic community suspects with appropriate proof that a case of plagiarism
has happened in any document, he or she shall report it to the Departmental
Academic Integrity Panel (DAIP). "Upon receipt of such a complaint or
allegation, the DAIP shall investigate the matter and submit its
recommendations to the Institutional Academic Integrity Panel (IAIP) of the
Higher Education Institutions (HEI).
"The authorities of HEI can also take suo motu notice
of an act of plagiarism and initiate proceedings under these regulations.
Similarly, proceedings can also be initiated by the HEI on the basis of
findings of an examiner. All such cases will be investigated by the IAIP,"
the regulations said.
According to the UGC statement, the objectives of the
regulations are: "To create academic awareness about responsible conduct
in research work, to establish an institutional mechanism through education and
training to facilitate responsible conduct, and to develop systems to detect
plagiarism and set up mechanisms to prevent it."
An important distinction has been made in the regulations,
and that is for the complete originality of 'core work' of a project. The core
work is covered under the 'Zero Tolerance Policy on plagiarism' and is to be
observed by students and faculty. "In case plagiarism is established in
the core work claimed then Plagiarism Disciplinary Authority (PDA) of the
institution shall impose a maximum penalty. The core work shall include abstract,
summary, hypothesis, observations, results, conclusions and
recommendations," the regulations state.
Mumbai University and plagiarism
In January 2018, professor Neeraj Hatekar of the Mumbai
School of Economics and Public Policy (MSEPP) was accused of plagiarising from
his wife, Rajani Mathur's, MPhil dissertation for his PhD thesis in 1993. Swati
Vohra, a professor at Rizvi College had made the accusation.
DNA reported that, in March 2018, Hatekar defended himself
and said, "The complaint is baseless. I had presented a paper in 1991-92
from which my wife cited a few ideas for her MPhil dissertation. The varsity
can verify the claims and pass a verdict if it has norms, with respect to
writing a research paper, in place."
According to The Times of India, Hatekar also claimed that
Mumbai University did not have anti-plagiarism rules in place according to UGC
guidelines. He wrote to the governor requesting that the varsity be directed to
adopt the UGC guidelines as a framework to deal with plagiarism cases.
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)'s policy on plagiarism
According to the document 'What is Plagiarism?', created by
the JNU library, a mandatory Turnitin check and certification is required for
all theses and dissertations done by MPhil and PhD students. Training workshops
for faculty and students are organised, which include workshops on ethics and
research methodology. The digital submission of any work is compulsory.
Software to curb plagiarism
In June, the Ministry of Human Resource Development announced
the introduction of 'Turnitin' software to help curb increasing instances of
plagiarism in work done by students in higher education institutes. Prakash
Javadekar, HRD minister, said, "The Central government has taken strong
steps to keep a check on such practices of plagiarism in PhD research. One
person's PhD thesis has been wrongly used by some others to complete their
theses. As such cases are on the rise, we have decided to use software such as
'Turnitin' and others to keep a check on such theses."
However, Business Standard reported that the company said
that the software is not designed to detect plagiarism. The Turnitin software
gives an indication of the 'amount of similarity' between the work being
evaluated, and the original report. "Hence, the 'Similarity Index', is not
exactly a 'Plagiarism Index', the report said.
With inputs from agencies
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