The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to discontinue the UGC-CARE listing of journals following the recommendations of an expert committee. This decision was taken during its 584th meeting on 3rd October 2024. In place of the UGC-CARE list, UGC has proposed suggestive parameters for choosing peer-reviewed journals to maintain research quality. These parameters have been placed in the public domain for feedback until 25th February 2025.
Purpose Behind the Introduction of UGC-CARE in 2018
Introduced in 2018, UGC-CARE aimed to tackle the growing issue of predatory journals—publications that charge authors for publishing research without proper peer review or editorial scrutiny. The initiative sought to create a credible list of quality journals that faculty and researchers could rely on for academic publishing. However, over time, the system faced criticism for its limitations, including the exclusion of reputed Indian-language journals, inconsistent inclusion criteria, and difficulties in adding or removing journals.
Why is UGC-CARE Discontinued ?
According to UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar, a 2023 expert review of CARE found several shortcomings:
● Lack of Transparency: There was no clear rationale for including or excluding journals.
● Sudden Removals: The unexpected delisting of journals created career uncertainties for researchers.
●Slow Inclusion of New Journals: The process to add new, high-quality journals was unclear and inefficient.
● Failure to Curb Predatory Publishing: Some low-quality journals still made it to the UGC-CARE list.
● Exclusion of Indian-Language Journals: This contradicts the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which promotes Indian languages in research.
●Limited Assessment of Non-STEM Disciplines: Humanities, social sciences, law, and Indian knowledge systems (IKS) were not adequately represented.
"What the New Decentralized Approach is About"
Rather than maintaining a central list, UGC has now placed the responsibility of journal selection on HEIs, guided by a set of suggestive parameters. These parameters include:
● Editorial board composition and expertise
● Transparent peer-review processes
● Ethical publishing standards
● Indexed databases and impact factors
● Accessibility, archival policies, and multilingual content
While institutions are not mandated to follow these parameters, the shift aims to give them academic freedom while ensuring accountability. HEIs that fail to establish quality control mechanisms risk damaging their academic credibility.
Essential Criteria for Selecting Peer-Reviewed Journals
1. Journal Preliminary Criteria
● The journal must have a title, ISSN number, and a regular publication schedule.
● It should have clear contact details, a transparent review policy, and a professional website.
● The journal’s access policy (open-access or subscription-based) and archival mechanisms should be defined.
● Integration with national or international repositories is encouraged.
2. Editorial Board Criteria
● A well-qualified editorial board with experts in relevant fields is necessary.
● The editorial board must ensure efficient peer-review processes with adherence to timelines.
3. Journal Editorial Policy
● The journal must clearly outline its aims, objectives, and subject areas.
● Transparency in article processing charges (APC) and submission-to-publication timelines is crucial.
● Acceptance rate data should be disclosed.
4. Journal Quality Criteria – Content
● Articles must show academic contribution and align with the journal’s scope.
5. Journal Standards
● Bibliographic data and citations must follow standardized referencing norms.
● The journal should have a professional design, quality visuals, and clear citation records.
● Online availability, multilingual accessibility, and quality website maintenance are essential.
6. Research Ethics
● Clear ethical guidelines for authors should be followed.
● Journals must ensure plagiarism prevention, conflict of interest disclosures, and AI content policies.
7. Journal Visibility
● Journals should have an impact factor and be indexed in reputed databases.
8. Journal Impact Criteria
● The journal’s self-citation score, total citation rate, and cite score should be within a prescribed range.
Recommendations for Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs)
● Faculty and students should use these parameters to select appropriate journals for publication.
●Internal review committees may be formed within HEIs to refine these parameters based on institutional research needs.
Concerns and Criticism
The removal of the centralized list has sparked debate among academics. While many acknowledge the flaws of UGC-CARE, some fear that eliminating it without a robust replacement could lead to a resurgence of predatory journals. Critics argue that instead of scrapping CARE, the UGC should have strengthened its assessment mechanisms.
However, the UGC maintains that this move aligns with NEP 2020’s goal of reducing bureaucratic control and allowing institutions to make discipline-specific choices while upholding academic integrity.
Moving Forward
The decision to discontinue the UGC-CARE listing aims to enhance transparency, accountability, and the overall quality of research publications. The newly proposed parameters serve as a guiding framework for researchers and faculty members in selecting credible peer-reviewed journals. Stakeholders are invited to share their feedback by 25th February 2025 via journal@ugc.gov.in.
With these parameters available for public feedback until 25th February 2025, HEIs, faculty, and researchers need to develop their own evaluation frameworks to maintain the integrity of academic publishing. The impact of this decentralized approach on preventing predatory journals is yet to be determined.
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