Faculty members under the Tenure Track System (TTS) in universities nationwide have called for a uniform salary structure and standardized packages, pointing out that their current salaries never been increased in accordance with commitments made by the government 17 years ago. As per available information with Daily Times, the government has revised the salaries and packages of the TTS professors only three times in the last 17 years. They were initially offered special packages which are no longer competitive.
The government introduced the TTS Policy in 2007 with an idea to improve the quality of education in the higher education sector. Subsequently, the than government recruited highly qualified teachers who could help improve the quality of education, promote the culture of research and assist students. The TTS was to ensure a 35 per cent gap in salaries of the TTS faculty and the other teaching staff appointed on the basis of Basic Pay Scale (BPS). However, now the BPS faculty members are drawing more salaries than those hired under the TTS which ire the economic difficulties of the TTS teachers. The government formed a task force, developed a policy and engaged with these teachers. Approximately 4,000 PhD holders, most of whom were foreign-educated, left their jobs to join the government’s special education initiative.
In addition, the HEC started a faculty development programme under which hundreds of students were offered scholarships for higher studies up to PhD level. The government signed an agreement with them making it compulsory for them to return after completion of their studies and serve in Pakistan for at least three years.
Moreover, the finance division through the Higher Education Commission (HEC) signed a MoU in 2021 with the universities that also ensured that their (TTS) pay structure would be 35 per cent higher than the normal pay structure but all in vain.
The teachers have now approached the IHC as a last hope after trying to get their issue addressed by relevant forums, including parliamentary committees. A few months back, a petition was also filed by such teachers in The Islamabad High Court (IHC) against these discriminations which is already taken by the court and adjourned to hear again on today (Monday).
A tenure track teaching association, APTTA), representing TTS professors in the universities all over the country, urged the authorities concerned in a statement that to ensure that the salary increase is applied uniformly across different cadres, maintaining the same rate of increase as has been the practice since the introduction of the TTS. “This will guarantee fairness and equity in the salary structure, preventing any potential disparities or anomalies,” the statement reads.
The APTTA further demanded f maintaining of a standardized salary package for all TTS faculty members across higher education institutions in Pakistan, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
“We also stress that the BPS package used as a reference for determining the TTS package should be either the one provided to employees of the HEC or the BPS package given to a federal university like Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad,” it claimed.
The APTTA hopes that the authorities will take these concerns into consideration and ensure a fair and equitable implementation of the salary increase. “We are committed to working with the government and other stakeholders to address the challenges faced by TTS faculty members and, in doing so, to promote the success and welfare of the higher education sector in Pakistan,” the statement reads.
A couple of weeks back, Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet approved a technical supplementary grant of Rs 1.5 billion of ministry of federal education. The ministry presented that grant to increase the salaries of faculty members under TTS. The APTTA welcomed the approval, saying that the decision was a significant step towards recognizing the contributions made, and hardships faced by TTS faculty members, whose salaries have been static since 2021.