THE field of academic publishing has become a lucrative business for many research journals across the world. The manuscripts are not apparently judged on the basis of originality of ideas, but on the basis of the amount of money received in the name of ‘fee’.

Most national and international research journals have now become ‘commercialised’ entities; they sell their clout and attract a number of ‘customers’. Some international journals charge publication fee as high as $600 for one research paper which makes it quite a challenge for a single person to manage.

Faculty members aspiring to publish for promotion to the next grades look for partners who can share the cost in lieu of their names to be included as second and third authors. This has perpetuated a surge in the ‘ghost authorship’.

The local research journals, mostly published by public-sector universities, have also started charging fee from the authors, ranging from Rs10,000 to Rs25,000.

The number of accepted articles for publication per issue also varies from journal to journal. Some journals publish 20 research articles in a single issue, charging Rs25,000 per paper; a cumulative booty of half-a-million.

The editors of the respective journals justify this on the pretext of non-availability of funds from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and from the institutions that they work for. Hence, they have no choice but to charge the authors, they argue.

To make things worse, there are no regulatory bodies that may keep a check on the actual cost incurred per issue against the collected amount from the authors. Hence, there is a real danger of proliferation of this practice.

There are many instances in which some faculty members have published as many as five or more research papers in a single year which apparently is beyond human capacity to manage actual research undertakings at that pace. Unfortunately, there are no checks and balances in place and there is no one to ask such authors to prove the authenticity of their papers. The HEC must revisit its policies in this regard.

The number of research papers may not be the only benchmark to determine faculty members’ promotion to the next cadre. The other factors, such as winning research projects, students’ evaluations and community service may be used as some additional parameters for this purpose.

Also, the weightage given to first, second and the third authors of research papers may be calibrated carefully so that the first author can get edge over the others.

Besides, bailout packages may be provided to public-sector universities for research journals so that the authors may be spared from paying the cost, thereby curbing the menace of ‘ghost authorship’.

If timely measures are not taken, quality research and teaching may become a distant dream in the times to come.

Dr Rafique A. Memon
Pro Vice-Chancellor
Sindh University Campus
Thatta

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2021