The University Grants Commission (UGC) has blacklisted four professors from the Tribhuvan University (TU) and the Kathmandu University (KU) for plagiarism.

These academicians were found lifting the contents from their previous works in research papers presented to the UGC.

Dhanpati Subedi, professor at the School of Education at the KU, had rehashed his M Phil thesis in its entirety as his research paper titled ‘Organisational Citizenship Behaviour in Higher Education,’ while he merely changed the cover and preface.

Similarly, Megh Raj Pokhrel, Dev Bahadur Khadka and Kedar Nath Ghimire, all PhD professors of the Central Department of Chemistry at the Tribhuvan University, had copied their previous works and submitted to the UGC as a joint research paper on ‘Chemical Modification of Natural Polymers and Their Application in Waste/Drinking Water.’   The trio had presented a similar research paper to the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) a few years ago.

The UGC’s evaluation committee led by Prof Krishna Bahadur Manandhar, also the former secretary at NAST, had evaluated their papers.

Charged with academic dishonesty, the four professors have been disqualified from participating in research works in the future, a statement issued here by the UGC said on Wednesday.  A separate meeting of the Evaluation Committee and the Research Council had taken the decision, as the professors failed to clarify their intentions, the statement said.

It added that the papers were plagiarised to acquire the state grant of Rs 1 million, which is in total violation of academic norms and professional ethics.

The four professors have already received half the UGC grant.

source: the kathmandu post,11 Dec 2013