This eligibility criterion has brought in discrimination in the case of art education, said speakers at 'State of Art Schools: Reality & Prospects' conference, being organised by Kochi Biennale Foundation in association with Foundation for Indian Art & Education (FIAE).
Reading out artist Sasidharan Nair's paper at the conference, artist Indrapramit Roy alleged, "There are lot of PhDs which are on sale in the country, especially in the some states in Northern part of the country."
In this context, the paper suggested a studio-based or practice-based PhD, saying it would be more realistic and practical when it comes to selecting art tutors.
Renowned architect Ravi Kashi, whose paper was presented by Indrapramit Roy, sought a regulatory mechanism and a set of new teaching practices that can be introduced to make art education more relevant in India.
Raja Mohanty, Professor at Industrial Design Centre (IIT Bombay), C P Krishnapriya, artist, and Saradha Natarajan, faculty member at S N School of Arts & Communication, Hyderabad also presented their papers on the second day of the conference.