A pamphlet thrown inside the house of a former vice-chancellor of the Lucknow University, Roop Rekha Verma, offering to arrange a PhD degree for Rs 2 lakh, has opened a can of worms.

Verma sent the pamphlet to Vice-Chancellor Ajaib Singh Brar, who immediately withheld the PhDs that have not been completed even after seven years. The university has decided to take stern action against those who are taking too long .

The decision has caused resentment among teachers and research scholars and many have decided to move the court.

Brar is unmoved, though. “Let them do whatever they want to, I have taken this decision after due consideration. If they cannot do it in seven years, they will never be able to do it. When such students become lecturers, instead of undertaking academics they indulge in politics,” he said.

Prashant Chaudhary, one of the students affected by the decision, said: “It’s not that every student is not serious. My PhD thesis took time as very little material was available on my topic — the Indo-Israel relations. I have the right to get an extension.”

Students can apply for an extension after four years of research and another one after seven years, he added.

In many cases PhDs take longer because students are not punctual.

“Indira Singh was a good student, but she got a job and discontinued her PhD,” said her guide Dr AN Singh. Her PhD registration is due for cancellation, as it has taken over eight years.

There are others who enrol and then do not pursue the research for years.