ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is set to take up a petition filed by top academicians at Pakistan’s leading universities seeking the implementation of the tenure and track system (TTS) and appropriate remuneration.
The petition was filed by 166 highly qualified faculty members from different universities across Pakistan seeking action to avoid brain drain in the country and to protect the future of higher education.
“Inaction on the part of Finance Division is causing colossal damage to teachers and if their grievances are not addressed immediately, it is bound to adversely affect the academic and research activities in the universities,” said Dr. Saadia Masood.
She strongly believed that the government must wake up and fulfill its commitment to keep highly qualified teachers, which make up 8 percent of the country’s teaching staff at universities, motivated.
According to details, the government introduced the TTS in 2007 with an idea to enhance the quality of education and to hire highly qualified teachers to help improve the quality of education, assist students and promote the culture of research.
The TTS ensures a 35 percent gap between the BPS (Basic Pay Scale) offered to the rest of the teaching staff. However, over time TTS professors are being paid less than the BPS teaching staff.
The government formed a task force and designed a policy and approached these teachers to address the important matter.
About 4,000 PhD holders, the majority of which were foreign qualified, left their jobs to become part of the government’s special initiative on education.
In addition, the HEC launched a faculty development program under which hundreds of students were offered scholarships for higher studies up to PhD.
The government inked an agreement with them making it mandatory to return, after completion of studies, and serve their home country for at least three years.
The government, revised their packages and salaries only three times in the last 17 years. The initial special packages offered to them are no longer competitive but there is no clarity on how and who will address their grievances.
The finance division, in 2021 signed an MoU through the Higher Education Commission that ensured that their pay structure would be 35 percent higher than the normal pay structure.
The teachers have now moved to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) as a last hope after trying to get their issue resolved by relevant forums.
