MU fails at UGC plagiarism guidelines

Even as the University Grants Commission (UGC) aims to make its rules against plagiarism more stringent, the University of Mumbai is yet to follow some of the provisions made under the earlier guidelines set by UGC.

More than three years after the university's Management Council approved the setting up of a special mechanism to detect plagiarism including a software to scan research papers and theses, the plan seems to have gone into cold storage. The university has still not adhered to some of the minimum standard guidelines set for awarding MPhil and PhD degrees.

In a public notice dated September 1, the UGC released a draft of the Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Education Institutions Regulations, 2017.

As per the draft guidelines, each university should have a Plagiarism Disciplinary Authority (PDA) to take action against students or staff members who are found submitting plagiarised assignments or academic work. However, in the absence of a basic infrastructure, the university would find it difficult to implement the new guidelines.