If you have a doctoral degree or teach at a university, you are likely to receive emails from ‘academic journals’ willing to publish your papers, provided you pay some nominal charges. Most such journals are printed online and boast a list of some highflying experts and professors who conduct peer review for you, of course at some more of that ‘nominal’ price. Apparently many Pakistani university teachers have sent their papers to such journals – with or without realising that they are fake and lack any credibility in international academic circles. Though the Higher Education Commission claims to have formed a database of approved journals, many academics willingly or unwillingly fail to verify journals through the database. After ‘publication’ of their papers they claim credit as it is helpful for their promotion to a higher grade, if not to a higher degree of intellect. Essentially, it is the responsibility of those who aspire to be researchers to check if the journal they are sending their papers to is genuine or fake.
There have also been reports of ‘hijacked’ journals – meaning that a publication uses the same name as that of another established journal to trap readers and researchers. In one such case reported by The News, the HEC is still maintaining that the hijacked journal is the same as the genuine one. The higher education sector in the country is already going through a crisis and the government appears to be least bothered about what is happening to education in the country. In the absence of any foolproof mechanisms it has become easier to obtain a doctoral degree and even more facile to get published in journals of dubious credentials. Because of these fraudulent practices, the academic reputation of Pakistani PhD holders and university teachers is in danger.
There is a widespread perception that our academics look for shortcuts to scientific glory. Academic and scientific excellence is not a function of half-baked papers and unreliable research. In a way, many of our institutions of higher education have been wasting a lot of resources in terms of energy, finances, and time without producing any worthwhile impact or results. Some international companies that calculate the impact factor of journals have already spotted dozens of hijacked journals that lure academics to send their papers for publication. Credible journals have a long waiting list for paper publications, while fraudulent ones accept and publish online with remarkable alacrity. The government and the HEC must take this issue seriously to save our higher education sector from further deterioration.