The recently-concluded interviews for the selections of PhD students at the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), a premier institute in the country funded by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, have raised eyebrows.

Some meritorious students, who have secured higher ranks in the examination conducted by the institute, have alleged that they have not been given the opportunity to work with the guides of their choice whereas the candidates with lower rank have been preferred for the same. 

They have also questioned why the selection and guide allocation to perspective PhD candidates has not been done transparently which is leading to disillusionment among hopeful PhD candidates. 

It might be mentioned here that the ILS is not getting enough PhD scholars though it requires to carry out various research and development projects despite being one of the most prestigious institutes in the country.

Sources said the number of applicants for the PhD programme has decreased dramatically over the last couple of years and candidates, who get selected for the PhD programme, eventually, do not prefer to join here. This is severely impacting the ability of the ILS to perform its duties to the nation in the research sector. 

Notably, the PhD candidates are at the mercy of the guides from the time of the interview. 

It might also be mentioned that there was an attempt by a scholar to harm herself due to torture by the PhD guide a few months back in the institute. The scientists do not seem to care about the PhD scholars. 

Besides that, the institute had also illegally fired some efficient employees last year. Later, some of them were re-hired due to the illegal nature of their firing. 

The scholars have alleged that the ILS has a habit of making the recruitments in a non-transparent manner.