Widespread demands were raised at Madurai Kamaraj University’s Academic Council meeting here on Friday to permit Assistant Professors to evaluate Ph.D theses due to a deficit of Associate Professors across affiliated colleges.P. Murugesan, Associate Professor and Head, Department of Business Administration, MKU College, claimed that the J Committee, despite lacking Syndicate approval, introduced a new requirement via Form J for Ph.D. thesis submissions.The move, he said, directly violated University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations.V. Umamaheswari, Associate Professor of English at Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar College, highlighted the hurdles research scholars face in entering academia and submitting their work.She noted that even after navigating a tough research journey, scholars face major delays in getting final clearance due to institutional bottlenecks.“The number of Associate Professors in the university and aided colleges is far too small,” she added.“Given these limited numbers, it is humanly impossible for them to review every single thesis for clearance. For this reason, Assistant Professors should also be permitted to evaluate research submissions,” Ms. Umamaheswari requested.Linking the issue to delays in granting Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) benefits to teachers in aided college, Mr. Murugesan noted that stalled promotions for Assistant Professors have directly disrupted the thesis evaluation process.Further, he demanded the immediate conduct of the Ph.D eligibility test, which has been stalled for nearly three years following allegations of irregularities.“While admissions through the NET are proceeding as usual, candidates seeking entry through the eligibility test are being kept out,” he remarked.D. Pandiaraja, Principal of Thiagarajar College, pointed out that in the absence of an official eligibility test for over three years, the university has outsourced entrance exams to a private corporate firm.“This corporate agency, lacking any educational or noble vision, conducts exams in an arbitrary manner, making it extremely difficult for candidates to enter research,” he alleged.As a result, numerous research seats remain vacant across colleges in the region. “This severe drop in scholars has even dragged down our college performance in NIRF and NAAC rankings,” he added.Additionally, he criticised the university’s refusal to grant research guideship to faculty in Self-Financing (SF) courses, which further constricts scholar intake.“While institutions like Anna University and Alagappa University permit self-financing teachers to guide scholars, MKU’s refusal to do so significantly reduces the overall number of Ph.D candidates in its affiliated colleges,” he observed.A science professor at MKU highlighted the inadequate supply of lab consumables for research.He noted that due to shortages of essential chemicals and equipment, faculty members face constant criticism from students questioning the lack of basic resources.A. Velanganni Joseph, Chairperson and Head of the Department of Youth Welfare Studies, argued that deteriorating hostel infrastructure has directly led to poor admissions this academic year.“Students who inspect the hostels after securing admission often forfeit their seats out of fear over the crumbling structures,” he alleged.He added that a long-standing institution like MKU should not suffer declining enrollment simply due to unsafe and neglected buildings.M. Ezhil Paramaguru, Assistant Professor in the Department of Tamil at Thiagarajar College, passed a resolution at the meeting seeking to remove foreign examiners from Ph.D adjudication panels.He argued that foreign evaluators, often unfamiliar with the specific subject matter and local cultural context, undermine the very purpose of the research.S. Muthiah, Registrar in-charge of MKU, took note of the resolution and assured members that it would be discussed with officials for a resolution.