The Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are established to produce quality graduates through academic and research activities. The theoretical knowledge of the domain is transferred through teaching whereas its applied side is covered through research. The mandate of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) is to provide guidelines and an enabling environment for these two major activities. Teachers are given training, research funds in form of research projects, travel grants, scholarships for improving qualification, etc with the support of the Government of Pakistan. The taxpayer’s money is forwarded to the Universities through HEC for operational activities as well.
Like other sections of the society, HEIs are also working with the same good and few bad people in different positions i.e. Academic or Administrative. The healthy finances of HEIs are the main indicators of their smooth functioning, in a case if it has sufficient funds for annual expenses then growth and development are sure but, in a case, funds are scarce then activities of teaching & research will be compromised. The institution will not be able to hire highly qualified people who may demand competitive salaries and in the same manner, it will not be able to purchase lab equipment for research work. During the initial years of HEC, it was communicated to the Universities to appoint administrators at various Human Resource and Financial positions with relevant qualifications and experience for dealing with respective functions in a professional manner.
It is time to introduce methods adopted for Central Superior Service (CSS) and Inter Services Selection Board (ISSB) for the recruitment of teachers who are expected to be best in their health, education, and ethical practices
As far as teaching positions are concerned a detailed qualification, experience, and research publication requirements for each position are in place. The main requirement for promotion from Lecturer to Assistant Professor is a Ph.D. degree in the relevant discipline. A person who is appointed as a lecturer will try his/her best to get a Ph.D. degree from a local or foreign HEI without any delay. During this process, some faculty members may have less research attitude but as they are already in a career where promotion without Ph.D. is not possible, therefore, they will try to get the same through all means. In a case, if a teacher with lack of core knowledge and research aptitude is enrolled in a local Ph.D. program then the supervisor and institution will be approached through different means for timely completion of Ph.D. to secure timely promotion. While saving time, the shortcut research methods are adopted, and studies or models established in the rest of the world are carried out in Pakistan without proper arrangements. Once a Ph.D. degree is awarded, the second target of such teachers is to publish research publications as much as they can.
Even a Ph.D. with no or little contribution to the society will yield a higher grade and financial benefits to the holder. Since the establishment of HEC and the introduction of plagiarism policy, many such cases of plagiarized PhD theses appeared in the newspapers and were dealt with as per policy. The role of Universities, faculty members, and relevant statutory fora is important for stopping any such practice where intellectual contribution or ethical standards are compromised. The research
publications with the no or low contribution are considered for promotion and this continuous cycle of compromising standards is paving way for financial benefits to the individuals at the cost of taxpayer’s money.
The institutions are autonomous to determine the relevance of the subject, experience, and publications on their own through respective committees but at the same time, they should be accountable for any favor given to the individual who does not deserve that. The system of appointment and promotion can be made transparent by publishing credentials of the individuals over the website and competitors may have access to the entire process. Many public sector institutions never compromise on the standards laid down by the HEC and the Institution. As HEC is providing over and above funding to the Universities for Tenure Track System (TTS) which is an incentive-based faculty appointment system, therefore, more care and professionalism is expected while recruiting faculty on TTS. The incentives are given to the faculty members for freeing him from financial worries and at the same time they have the responsibility to develop a quality research culture in the Institution. It is established fact that students will always follow good teachers as role models.
It is time to introduce methods adopted for Central Superior Service (CSS) and Inter Services Selection Board (ISSB) for the recruitment of teachers who are expected to be best in their health, education, and ethical practices. They are expected to teach and train the young minds who will serve and lead the nation; therefore, we need to make these positions more competitive and stop the door of financial corruption through intellectual compromise. Through this, only those teachers will join HEIS who have a passion for teaching and who are willing to take on challenges in research. They can establish collaboration with local and foreign institutions for mutual teaching, training, and research-related activities. Teamwork is expected from them as the ecosystem of Higher Education mostly relies on teamwork and collaborative activities.
The author is Dy. Director at Higher Education Commission