Title: Does PhD enrolment improve the research efficiency of educational institutes? A comparative assessment of Indian universities using data envelopment analysis

Authors: Sushant Malik; Nisha Bharti; Varnika Gupta

Addresses: Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India ' Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India ' Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India

Abstract: Today, there is an increased focus on research in Indian universities. The objective of this paper is to determine the research efficiency of the universities and the effects of PhD enrolments on the same. The study uses the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) data. Two models were used to analyse and compare the research efficiency of universities. The results indicate, to increase the efficiency, the output from the PhD scholars needs to be improved. The results imply that some universities have a high count of PhD students, but their contribution to research is insignificant, resulting in poor research efficiency scores in Model 2. This study concludes that proper policy needs to be framed for minimum research outputs as part of PhD programs. Public and private universities in India should monitor the number of PhD scholars and their output.

Keywords: higher education; Indian universities; research efficiency; data envelopment analysis; DEA; NIRF.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEED.2023.129880

International Journal of Education Economics and Development, 2023 Vol.14 No.2, pp.173 - 190

Received: 17 Jun 2021
Accepted: 19 Oct 2021
Published online: 03 Apr 2023 *