THE Tenure Track System (TTS) was introduced by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in 2002 as part of major structural reforms in the national higher education sector, with the objective of attracting and retaining highly-qualified faculty in universities.

Indeed, in terms of qualifications, the TTS faculty is unmatched by any other group in the country: all of them hold PhDs or equivalent terminal degrees in their fields, mostly from top-ranking foreign universities, and an overwhelming majority of them is trained in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

The number of TTS faculty members is currently about 6,000 in the country, which is only a fraction of the total faculty in universities. TTS has some unique features compared to the conventional basic pay scale (BPS) system. It offers higher salary — at least it used to — but the faculty is required to meet stricter criteria for appointment, performance evaluation and promotion.

However, because of the indifference of the HEC and successive governments, the TTS faculty today stands severely demoralised. While all employees of the federal and provincial governments receive ad hoc relief allowance in almost every budget, the same is not available for the TTS faculty. In fact, the TTS pay scales have not been updated since 2015.

Furthermore, after the recently approved 25 per cent disparity reduction allowance and 10pc ad hoc relief allowance, even the gross salary of the BPS faculty has become higher than the TTS faculty; at least for assistant professors.

Add to that the monetary value for pension and in-service death benefits — both of which are again not available to the TTS faculty — and one begins to wonder if the TTS faculty is being purposefully discriminated against.

Isn’t it ironic that the government has sufficient funds to grant a cumulative 35pc increase to hundreds of thousands of federal and provincial employees, but the funds suddenly dry up every time the case for revising the salaries of only 6,000 or so TTS faculty members is moved?

The HEC and the federal authorities should resolve this matter on a priority basis. It is not possible to fully concentrate on academic activities when financial matters become a bigger concern.

Dr Mian Muhammad Faheem

Lahore

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2021