JNU teachers' association forms committee against plagiarism

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Association (JNUTA) Wednesday constituted a committee to look into the issues of plagiarism in the university and broader related issues.

According to the association, there are reports of increasing instances of plagiarism in dissertations submitted by the students.

"There was more than 50 percent plagiarism in many of the dissertations. Yet, the students obtained not only pass grades, but even good grades. This impacts the standards of the university and leaves a poor impression on external examiners. As word spreads, even our good dissertations will be viewed with suspicion by the academic world," said the association in a statement.

It added that the university administration seems to be satisfied with mechanically solving the problem through the use of software, but is not dealing with the wider underlying issue of relationship between the teacher and the taught.

The university has declared that it will introduce the vetting of dissertations and term papers via software, made available by the Library.

The association said there are reports that various ways have been devised to beat this mechanical system. Often the faculty member cannot catch the copying if it is from non-web based sources, or because the source may not be known to the faculty member.

"Plagiarism also hits at the root of knowledge generation, which is the key aspect of research. While technology helps research, it is also creating problems. Students who plagiarize and get away with it are likely to continue to do so in the future also, and that would damage the research ethos not only in the university, but in the country as a whole," the statement said.