RECENTLY the Punjab higher education department advertised the much-awaited posts of lecturers for public colleges. The recruitment is to be made through the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) on a regular basis.

While the news brought a glimmer of hope for the tens of thousands of aspiring academics waiting eagerly for this opportunity, it also raises serious concerns that is related to the upper age limit. This stipulation is especially of concern for male candidates.

The recruitment advertisement in newspapers states that the maximum upper age limit is 33 years for male candidates and 36 years in case of female applicants. Although the minimum educational qualification remains a master’s degree or 16 years of education in a given discipline, many candidates with higher educational qualification also commonly apply for lectureship vacancies.

But as a result of such a low upper-age bar, the recruitment policy renders many applicants having MPhil or PhD ineligible for being overage. There is an obvious anomaly in the policy. On the one hand, the recruitment process encourages candidates by awarding additional marks for higher qualification, on the other hand, no extra age relaxation is given to such applicants with advanced research degrees.

It would make more sense if candidates with higher qualification are encouraged during the recruitment process because they are best suited to a lecturer’s job. This point should be noted because public sector colleges in Punjab are likely to introduce four-year BS undergraduate programmes in the coming days.

It is important to note that the recruitment policy for educators and AEOs 2016-17 (school education department, Punjab) has raised the upper age limit to 35 and 38 years for male and female candidates to accommodate aspirants with higher qualification.

Ironically, Punjab higher education department policy discourages and excludes such applicants for college lectureship by keeping the upper age limit as 33 and 36 years for male and female candidates.

Therefore, it is time Punjab higher education department recruitment policy was revisited and revised by keeping in view the age-related lacuna as discussed above.

To improve the existing teaching and research standards, it is imperative for our public institutes of higher education to attract the best of potential candidates with high educational credentials and research degrees.

Continuing with the current recruitment policy will only deprive many aspiring academics of the opportunity to enter academia for failing to meet an unfair age criterion.

Shabbir Bokhari
Pakpattan

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2020