Plagiarism in research papers will be punished: AICTE Chairman reminds us about recent UGC rules

he UGC recently rolled out new rules for conducting research in India and now, research members and faculty indulging in plagiarism will be punished, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) Chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe said yesterday.
The move was carried out to better the research conditions in the country and to ensure that India can put out credible and quality research papers in future.
"As per new UGC (University Grants Commission) regulations, the faculty and researchers indulging in plagiarism will be punished which is a positive development in our higher education system as it will bring more credibility to the research in the country," Sahasrabudhe said while addressing a gathering at the 'Academic & Research Integrity Conclave 2018'.

'Technology should be used for holistic academic solutions'

While speaking at the conclave organised by Turinitin, a commercial, internet-based plagiarism-detection service launched in 1997, the AICTE Chairman pointed out that technology can help in promoting academic integrity but they can be used best when they assist bigger cultural commitment at an institution.
"Technology might assist in discovering academic misconduct through plagiarism and authorship. But, when technology tools are weaved into holistic academic integrity solution, they have the power to help promote cultural change, "said Marc Daubach of Turnitin.
In India, more than 400 institutions subscribe to Turnitin's services, including leading institutions, such as IISc, IITs and IIMs.
The UGC (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Education Institutions) regulations 2018 were approved in its meeting held on March 20.

Here are the recent rules by UGC directing plagiarism in research to be punished:

• According to this regulation, students and teachers who plagiarise will lose their registrations
• The law in this draft regulation prescribes graded punishment for plagiarism
• Students may have to submit a revised research paper if found plagiarised in between 10 per cent and 40 per cent. The duration given for re-submission will be six months
• If plagiarism is between 40 to 60 per cent, students will be deprived of submitting the revised paper for the duration of one year
• The student's registration for a programme will be cancelled if the research paper found plagiarised beyond 60 per cent
• Teachers in academics, if found with 10 to 40 per cent of plagiarism in their research work, will be asked to withdraw the manuscript
• If the plagiarism is between 40-60 per cent, the teachers will be debarred from supervising Master's/PhD or MPhil students for two years and will be denied a single annual increment
• Over 60 per cent of plagiarism will lead the teachers' suspension and dismissal

"I am all for checking plagiarism which is indeed a problem in India within academia. We have very lax standards on this count and that is what seems to have prompted government to propose such a law. It would have been better if universities had strong internal mechanisms as in so many other countries," the former vice-chancellor of Delhi University, Dinesh Singh, had said, HT reported.

Previous plagiarism charges which got the limelight in India

India has been witness to several plagiarism charges against central university vice-chancellors and teachers in the past few years. Pondicherry University VC Chandra Krishnamurthy quit in 2016 after a prolonged stand-off with the HRD ministry, following allegations that she plagiarized large parts of a book mentioned in her resume.
The most popular case of plagiarism in India is that of BS Rajput, the VC of Kumaon University, a serial plagiarist, in which seven Stanford University professors wrote to about him to the then President APJ Abdul Kalam, as reported by HT.

All higher education institutions need to develop policy on plagiarism

According to UGC, all higher educational institutions will have to develop a policy on plagiarism and get it approved by relevant statutory bodies and display it on their websites. In September last year, UGC formed a committee and sought public feedback on a proposed plagiarism policy.

source: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/plagiarim-in-research-papers-will-be-punished-ugc-rules-html-1225507-2018-05-03