Axing of standard publications list sparks quality fears

Academics are concerned about a dramatic fall in standards of research and possible increases in dubious academic publications after India’s higher education regulator, the University Grants Commission (UGC), announced a decision this month (January) to discontinue its standard list of publications.

The UGC-Consortium for Academics and Research Ethics (UGC-CARE) list, established in November 2018, serves as a resource for researchers and academics, enabling them to identify credible journals that meet specific quality standards for publishing their work.

The UGC-CARE list provides an inventory of journals indexed in widely recognised databases such as Elsevier’s Scopus and Clarivate’s Web of Science.

"The UGC has decided to discontinue the CARE list. It was felt that universities are in the best position to decide … which publications to follow,” said a UGC official not authorised to speak on the topic.

An official of the Ministry of Education, who did not want to be named, said: “the recent move could jeopardise the future of research”.

To maintain academic integrity, several Indian journals established their credibility through inclusion in the UGC-CARE list and indexing in globally recognised databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, the official said.

“But the discontinuation of the UGC-CARE list poses a major threat to research standards, as it may pave the way for substandard journals, undermining the country’s scientific and academic standards,” the official said.

Indian journals were included in the CARE list after rigorous evaluation by experts, which meant that smaller, in-house, and niche journals not indexed by large platforms like Scopus were also listed.

Nonetheless, scrapping the list could negatively impact the international reputation of Indian universities and potentially foster an environment conducive to the proliferation of predatory journals, academics said.

The emergence of dubious and unscrupulous journals has become a concern worldwide, with reports indicating there is a high percentage of research articles published in low-quality journals in India, negatively impacting its image.

Power to overseas publishers

Achal Agrawal, founder of India Research Watch, said: “On the surface, this move seems to make no difference. Instead of CARE list journals, it would be journals indexed by Scopus which will be counted.

“However, it gives monopolistic power to Scopus to become the de facto gatekeeper of what research gets counted in India. Additionally, Scopus is owned by the publisher Elsevier, thus giving their publishing business a massive advantage.”

Agrawal emphasised that UGC-CARE should not be scrapped. Instead, it should be made better with stricter quality controls and consultations with domain experts on what the good journals are in each domain.

“Giving that power to a foreign entity with a vested interest is not the right decision for the long term,” he stated.

Some academics pointed out that the UGC list curbed but was not able to eliminate dubious journals entirely, a failing that is believed to be one of the reasons for scrapping it.

The UGC first introduced a ‘UGC-Approved Journals’ list in 2015 following recommendations from universities across the country.

However, its integrity was compromised when poor quality journals began to appear on the list, contributing to a ‘pay-and-publish’ culture with questionable ethical standards. The UGC-CARE list introduced in late 2018 was a response to this, intended to improve the quality of research publications.

Predatory journals

A researcher at a centrally funded university in the central Indian city of Sagar said: “The UGC-CARE list has played a crucial role in assisting researchers in identifying credible journals that adhere to strict quality benchmarks.

This list has become particularly vital for academics in India, where assistant and associate professors are required to publish research papers or books to progress in their careers.”

Requesting that his name not be used, the researcher pointed out that prior to 2018, many predatory journals often charged publication fees. To counter this issue, the UGC introduced the CARE list, which included only those journals that underwent rigorous assessments and were indexed in respected global databases.

Dr Shaunak Roy, assistant professor of management studies at St Xavier’s College Kolkata, said in a blog post: “By scrapping this standard list and leaving the decision to individual universities, the UGC risks reversing this progress.

“This move is concerning, as taking the list down might open the doors again to low-quality journals that dent the credibility of research work and spur the emergence of predatory journals.

“Allowing universities to maintain their own lists of journals will lead to inconsistency and confusion. What qualifies as a credible publication in one institution may not be recognised in another, creating disparities in academic evaluation.”

He explained: “The CARE list was more than just a database; it was a quality assurance mechanism that encouraged Indian researchers to match global standards,” he said, adding: “The UGC should reconsider this step and have a proper consultation with universities and researchers in order to rectify the flaws of the existing system without dismantling it altogether.”

One academic said the situation may lead to an increase in cloned journals, where cyber criminals create fraudulent websites that imitate legitimate journals, and mislead authors with rapid and unethical publishing practices.

Broader concerns about standards

Some academics suggested that instead of discontinuing the CARE list, the UGC could help protect academic standards and bolster the country’s global research reputation by refining the assessment process and elevating the quality benchmarks for listed journals.

Fuelling existing concerns around research quality is the fact that the UGC’s draft regulations on faculty recruitment released on 7 January also suggest relaxing publication requirements for faculty promotions.

Currently, assistant professors are expected to publish seven research papers for promotion, while associate professors must publish 10. In terms of the draft regulations, these would be significantly reduced to three for an assistant professor.

University World News Asia Editor Yojana Sharma contributed to this article.