The pursuit of a PhD degree in Nepal has not only strayed from its core purpose of advancing knowledge or solving complex problems; rather, the “obsession” among university-educated middle-class and newly rich Nepali people to write “Dr.” before or “PhD” after one's name has created a market for academic shortcuts. Hence, as indicated by the recent revelations, in a nation where titles often carry more weight than substance, people are indeed purchasing PhDs from degree mills, unaccredited academic institutions, and foreign universities blacklisted by relevant authorities.
In addition, this ridiculous obsession with PhD degrees in Nepal has also sustained the malpractice of hiring ghost/gift researchers to complete dissertations and publish research papers. Furthermore, within the political culture of Nepal, there is a chance that even those people who have not truly earned their PhD degrees might get positions of authority as researchers, educators, chairpersons, chancellors, heads of public institutions, and policymakers, as nepotism, favoritism, political groupism, and awkward bylaws related to political and ministerial appointments are all too common.
False consciousness associated with a PhD degree
The term “false consciousness” in Marxist theory refers to the ways that institutional, ideological, and material processes deceive members of the proletariat and other class actors in capitalist societies by hiding the exploitation and inequality that are an inherent part of class relations. In a similar vein, the misconception around the PhD obsession in Nepal reflects the belief that the key to success in both the social and professional domains is in earning the title.
After all, a PhD degree serves as a badge of honor in Nepali society, where individuals are misled into believing that the worth of a PhD is found in the credentials themselves, such as the “Dr.” title or “PhD” initials, without any genuine scholarship or proof of an original study. Besides, there is also a tendency to acquire a PhD degree for political or bureaucratic legitimacy among ministers, politicians, policy advisors, and bureaucrats in Nepal to showcase themselves as so-called subject matter “experts” in public speeches, negotiations, discussions, and media appearances.
Ironically, most often just the title is enough; for promotions within the university system or for political appointments, nobody inquiries about the area of specialization, university accreditation or methodological orientation associated with one’s PhD degree.
Similarly, some departments in Nepali universities have intentionally decided to function more like degree mills, with an unusually high number of doctoral graduates compared to others. In these departments individuals with higher studies from different knowledge domains, such as engineering, medical sciences, business studies, economics, and psychology, can obtain a PhD even without following the rigorous research standards required for knowledge formulation within a specific specialization.
It’s all an easy way out, an inter/multi-disciplinary hodgepodge from Vedic sciences, quantum physics, Marxism, mathematics, economics, the theory of relativity, entrepreneurship, and financial accounting in education; everything to anything else is accepted within the postmodern interpretative research paradigm. However, what would be the reliability, validity, and applicability of knowledge generated in these departments where few professors act as experts in multiple knowledge domains in a university system that is deeply entrenched in disciplinary silos with extremely limited cross-departmental collaborations?
Seriously, would you trust a doctor in the real world who claims to be an orthopedic surgeon, dentist, heart specialist, and psychiatrist? Hence, we have a solemn concern regarding the quality of knowledge produced by the majority of PhD graduates from Nepali universities.
Here, universities in Nepal need to realize that the doctorate of philosophy (PhD), which first emerged in 17th-century Germany, was never intended to be just another academic credential. Wilhelm von Humboldt, founder of the University of Berlin, envisioned this degree as the pinnacle of scholarship, rooted in Enlightenment ideals of freedom, logic, reason, and empirical inquiry.
In his model doctoral study was designed to blend original research with teaching, to ensure that knowledge creation is an inseparable part of the process of learning. As history indicates, philosopher of science and mathematical logic Ludwig Wittgenstein earned his Cambridge PhD through his groundbreaking work Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, even without a bachelor’s degree. Hence, the essence of a PhD lies not in formalities, protocols, and hierarchies but in the transformative contribution to human understanding.
Weak research culture in Nepal
At the heart of Nepal’s PhD crisis lies a fragile research ecosystem. Genuine doctoral training depends on mentorship, infrastructure, funding, and a vibrant community of inquiry, and these conditions are largely absent in our universities. Hence, doctoral programs in Nepali universities have failed to link research to real-world applications, and PhD graduates gain the title without engaging industries, technologies, or communities where their skills could generate tangible impact.
For example, a person who has completed a PhD on “experiences of students in online education in Nepal” becomes a professor in development studies, a vocational educator, an expert in feminism, and a thesis supervisor in sustainable studies, despite having no interaction with software companies, digital platforms, or technical innovations that are directly tied to online education. Here, the main question is what is the value of becoming a PhD graduate without domain-specific expertise?
In contrast, if we look at the career of Genevieve Bell, vice-chancellor of the Australian National University, as a cultural anthropologist after her PhD, she was selected by Intel Corporation to build social-science research competency in the advanced research and development labs. Similarly, her anthropological ethnographic research has been assimilated by the tech giant Intel Corporation for developing computer applications and information technologies that are better aligned and assimilated with socio-cultural human experiences.
More importantly, her example highlights what Nepal’s PhD research culture lacks: the ability to translate inquiry into practice. Hence, for the higher education system in Nepal to move forward, universities, policymakers, and the public must shift their focus from producing “doctors” to cultivating critical thinkers, innovators, and problem-solvers.
After all, the future of higher education in Nepal lies in cultivating a generation of scholars who acknowledge research as a transformative contribution that is essential to the country's socioeconomic, political, artistic, technological and cultural progress.
(Ojha is a writer, researcher, and educator at different educational institutions.)
