Basic vs tenured

The HEC has recently constituted a committee to identify the hindrances in the implementation of the Tenure Track System (TTS) across the country. The system was first launched in 2004 to upgrade the research environment in universities. While the universities are predominately appointing new faculty members on the TTS, the faculty members who were already working on the BPS never actually accepted the system and preferred to stay on the BPS. Whenever the authorities tried to find out the reasons for the non-adoption of TTS system, the debate rarely stepped out of the realm of pay-structure. Although monthly pay is an important issue, there are a number of administrative issues which need to be revisited. In the TTS, a faculty member is offered a six-year tenure with an annual internal performance review from foreign reviewers.

These reviewers take a lot of time to submit their assessment. A faculty member is neither offered a permanent tenure nor promotion until the review is submitted. It should be noted that the HEC has already outlined the criteria for the promotion of assistant and associate professors. In the presence of clearly stated criteria, the purpose of a foreign review does not seem logical. In 2004, when TTS was new, it seemed logical as atmosphere of research, supposedly didn’t exist in Pakistan, but now such review is questionable.

Dr Muhammad Uzair Qamar

Faisalabad