Once upon a time, there were ghostwriters to rustle up books, articles and speeches. Today, they'll also draft your PhD thesis , MBA assignment, project report and research proposal. Not stopping at that, they will also prepare models and charts. All for a price, of course. But as the phantom writing industry grows, taking over campuses across the country, many are wondering if this is another sign of education's downward spiral.
In the minds of quite a few, it is a valid concern. After all, this is how lakhs of students are ramping up their CGPA grades, degrees, awards and, significantly , job prospects. The prerequisite? Deep pockets. Outsourced school projects might cost a few hundred bucks, but for an 'original' PhD thesis, it can be anything between Rs 75,000-2 .5 lakh.
"It depends on the nature and amount of research involved," says Anubhav Sharma, a software consultant in Delhi with a PhD in computer science. Sharma has written the doctorate thesis for two students in Rajasthan and UP. "I charged them over Rs 1 lakh each. I kept both informed every two-three months about the progress, while I got the data and did research . I prepared them for the viva - they have now got their degrees," he says.
Sharma is one of the many individuals and companies who are the new "knowledge providers" . They could be owners of photocopy shops - who copy someone's thesis and sell it to others - or bespoke factories which churn out dissertations. Abhinash Jena, the owner of Dissertation Deal, a company in south Delhi, says he helps out some 20-25 students every month with a team of 20-25 full-time employees. They have done their MBAs and PhDs and are paid Rs 30,000-60 ,000.
"Almost 90% of my students are those who haven't been able to complete some papers or haven't been able to submit their dissertation," Jena says. His team does the hard work and sends the student a draft, who then works further on it. This process can sometimes take even six months. "Often we have to review around 100 authors for the project," says Jena. "The cost could range between Rs 5,000-2 .5 lakh. As for the viva-voce , even video-conferencing is done to prepare outstation students." Jena admits some students want ready-made projects or worse, a proxy to take the exam on their behalf. "I don't do that; it's unethical . How can I ask someone who has done his PhD or Masters to do this?"
The meaning of academic ethics, however, can mean anything or nothing. T K Oommen, professor emeritus, JNU, calls such ghost writing "corruption" of the worst form in higher education. "After completing his MPhil and PhD, the student will get a job for which he has no competence. While there are laws to stem this malpractice, the connivance of supervisors and examiners makes it possible to continue it. It's more a matter of professional ethics than legislation."
In a cut-and-paste world, ethics are the first casualty. "Many examiners don't take the trouble to read a thesis thoroughly, or they say, 'Why spoil a student's future' , little realizing the enormity of the whole thing," rues Oommen. "I have even had a student who reproduced from a book of mine without acknowledging it. I complained to higher authorities saying I cannot evaluate myself!"
The mismatch between the ghost-written work and the student's abilities is sometimes glaring. Sarveshwar Pande, professor of finance at Amity Business School in Lucknow, says, "One of the biggest indicators is the huge gap in the language used in the thesis and that used by the candidate during the viva. Some can't even recall sections from their own thesis ." While there are no studies on the size of this grey market in India, Pande believes that out of the "five lakh students in higher education, 40-50 % seek outside assistance."
Some experts paint a darker picture and insist 90% of research in India is downloaded. That doesn't shock social scientist Shiv Visvanathan. "Education has become a thriving industry and if you can have tutorials outside, why not inside? Research has become a commodity and can be leased out. Industrialization begins early in India," he says, tongue firmly in cheek. It's the old demand-and-supply rule. Visvananthan says he gives grade E to unacceptable projects. "E is for effort. That doesn't make me popular," he says.
However, neither ethics nor guilt really figures anywhere when business is booming. Sharma says he doesn't feel bad because he didn't shortchange anyone and his clients already have jobs as assistant professors; they just need quicker PhDs to become professors. But in the process, says Pande, the honest ones may miss the grade and lose out on promotions and awards. As for the dishonest, "the real crunch would come if they can't perform at work. It would then be like a game of snakes and ladders."
Words' worth
A study at the University of Wuhan in eastern China has shown that commercial sales of ghostwritten dissertations and journals were worth nearly 1 billion yuan ($156 million) in 2009, a 500% increase over 2007.
In the UK, the online essay industry is estimated to be worth more than £200 million.
According to the Center for Academic Integrity in the US, in 2008, nearly a third of the faculty at its 360 college and high school member institutions reported students downloading term papers, reports or essays written by someone else from online sites known as paper mills.
