Gaya: Magadh University (MU) authorities have pressed the panic button after the Higher Education Commission of Thailand rejected 40 PhDs that the varsity had awarded to Thai nationals.

The issue was discussed threadbare at an extraordinary meet of the university's academic council, the apex body monitoring and regulating its quality of education.

Confirming the concern of the academic council, MU vice-chancellor Qamar Ahsan said corrective action was being taken and an internal inquiry will be conducted to identify the wrong-doers.

Another meeting of the university's academic council on August 13 has decided that now onwards, no foreign student will be admitted without a valid visa and equivalence certificate for eligibility. Moreover, admitted foreigners will be required to clear language proficiency test or a bridge course in one of the four languages (Hindi, English, Sanskrit and Pali).

The academic council has also decided to upload all PhD dissertations on the UGC website and conduct plagiarism test at a reputed institution before being sent for evaluation. The dean will recommend three teachers of central universities for appointment as external examiners for PhD theses.

According to sources, the matter has caused concern at the highest level both at the Centre and the state and tough action in the matter is not being ruled out.

The VC added that he had already written to the government to accelerate the pace of the ongoing vigilance inquiry into the MU degree scam.

Most of the degrees have been awarded in Buddhist Studies and allied subjects.

The vigilance investigation bureau (VIB) of the state government is also conducting inquiry into allegations that more than 300 foreigners got PhD degrees in a questionable manner and several of them got it without even visiting India.

The university, according to VIB sources, does not have a record of passport numbers, visa details, eligibility certificates, no-objection certificates from competent authorities of persons awarded the degrees.