Srinagar, Oct. 13 -- A PhD is supposed to be the highest expression of academic excellence, intellectual discipline and original research. Yet, in parts of India's higher education system, doctoral admissions are increasingly attracting serious questions about transparency, merit and commercialization. What should be a rigorous process of identifying talented researchers can, in some institutions, become an admission-driven exercise in which fees and revenue assume excessive importance? The issue is not simply about one university or one category of institution. It raises a larger question: Are we producing researchers, or are we selling doctoral degrees?

The rapid expansion of private higher education has undoubtedly increased access to...