In its current state, Pakistan’s education system does not provide a foundation for students to develop their capacity to explore, analyse and be critical in a constructive way in order to come up with creative solutions. Consequently, the system produces many poor quality graduates who are unprepared to teach in an effective and challenging manner. The vicious cycle of poor education and teacher preparation makes the system unproductive and ineffective. Without qualified faculty there is no stepping stone for the next generation of faculty and students to improve their educational standards.

Higher Eeducation Commision’s (HEC) programme to invite experienced university scholars and teachers from abroad to assist in increasing the quality of local faculty and help students perform better was a much-needed initiative. However, the programme outcomes showed that while a few of the foreign faculty were well received and considerably enriched the education of students, many local faculty at the host universities were hostile instead of welcoming the visitors. The foreign visiting faculties often were not given a clear plan or the necessary support to collaborate with local researchers, empower students and perform quality work. Despite these challenges this programme, if better implemented, can be a very helpful tool that can deliver considerable short and long-term benefits.

The plan

Under the Foreign Faculty Hiring Programme, HEC planned to hire 300 foreign faculty members per year to be placed at public-sector universities. These faculty members (foreign nationals/Pakistani expatriates) are required to have a PhD degree and excellent communication skills as well as a distinguished teaching and research record.

Emphasis was placed on hiring foreign faculty members in disciplines relevant to the economic and social development of the country to cope with the critical shortage of qualified faculty in Pakistan. Foreign faculty members were expected to impart a modern and progressive outlook to academic programmes in Pakistani universities, with the latest knowledge in priority areas where expertise is lacking within the country. Their presence and academic activity would stimulate local colleagues, students and researchers and establish new norms of international academic standards.

Undesired aliens

Many local faculties felt that the programme was unfair to them. In their perspective, the foreign visiting faculty was receiving considerably higher salaries without being exceptional in credits or experience. A change is often met with resistance. The first component missing in the programme was indeed not including local faculty in this massive initiative. The visiting faculty was not introduced properly, thus their qualifications remained unknown to their local colleagues, generating misunderstandings, misperceptions, a negative attitude and missed opportunities for potential cooperation. If local faculty were included in the process, they would have been informed not only on the professional background and experience of each of the foreign experts, but also could have greatly contributed with suggestions about their institutional needs.

Under this programme, many of the foreign visiting faculties are expatriates educated in international higher-education institutions and a successful career overseas. The foreign faculty receives double the salary of their local colleagues, but their main motivation to return to Pakistan is generally far from receiving financial benefits. In their adopted countries, these professionals earn at least five times more than the salary offered by HEC to come and teach in Pakistan. For example, a foreign visiting faculty received a tax-free salary of US$15,000 per month before participating in the programme that pays only US$2,500.

In addition to a cut in salary and stopping other benefits such as health insurance, leaving their families and other professional and personal obligations behind, the foreign visiting faculty accepts a much higher risk by interrupting their careers. In all modern economies, a sustainable career means devoted professional work and an interruption of even six months can cost a professional (such as a scientist researcher) his or her team, research programme and, ultimately career.

Thus, not all experts can afford to take such a long commitment and risk. Those who choose to do so are usually in a more flexible schedule or sacrifice a lot to become part of the programme that they feel is their patriotic duty to participate in. It is quite a sacrifice in terms of financial, social and professional costs that the visiting faculty takes to interrupt their lives and commit to such a task.

In any case, even some of the foreign visiting faculty who did not have as much impressive experience as was expected by locals, have a lot to offer by bringing new teaching methods, collaboration opportunities and firsthand knowledge of other cultures to their colleagues and especially to their students. This background information is essential not only for a proper reception of the visitors, but also for the programme to achieve its ultimate goal of benefiting from their presence.

Facilitating successful programmes

Improving education quality in Pakistan requires a lot of hard work, regardless of a teacher’s background, experience or salary. Most of the foreign faculty identified as their main concern the poor education background of students. While students in Pakistan are generally very intelligent and receptive to new ideas, most of them have learned by memorising formulas without a clear understanding. They lack the practical skills of logical thinking and spatial imagination. They need to be better prepared and have a stronger academic background from their higher secondary education onward.

A real reform of education means that all levels of education must be brought up to modern standards. Other challenges include lack of equipment, up-to-date textbooks, computer facilities and other resources due to insufficient funds. While financial challenges are at times unpredictable and take time to be addressed, for programmes such as the foreign visiting faculty to be successful, certain steps must be taken beforehand.

First, HEC can design and implement a better plan to introduce and include local faculties in the process. As part of the long-term planning for the visiting faculty, an evaluation system based on their performance can offer great feedback on the best procedure, people, and the length of term of their service. As part of the actual programme, it is necessary that HEC offers sufficient financial support for publication, participation in international conferences and professional meetings for the visiting faculty.

All these channels allow the foreign visiting faculty to keep up their work, continue to publish research and meet with other international professionals. At the same time, it allows them to publicise their host institution and their team, establishing much-needed exposure and linkage in the international academic environment.

The visiting faculty must be rewarded with satisfactory financial incentives. Salaries may be paid in a foreign currency, and in a timely manner, to allow for changes in inflation, and the depreciation of the rupee. Some of the foreign faculty complained of not receiving their salaries and reimbursement of their travel expenses for up to six months. This concern must be fixed, especially for those foreign visiting faculties that decide to commit to the programme for a longer term.

A system of collaboration must be required for all local, departmental and other institutions as part of the exchange programme to encourage cooperation and the sharing of research and knowledge. Foreign visiting faculty should become an engine for research development and collaboration in the country. The existing facilities, buildings, laboratories and equipment can be better used if more researchers and teams share their resources. For those who lack facilities this can be a great way to utilise and share. For those who offer the facilities, the exchange of ideas, shared projects and collaborations can turn to immense benefit and advancement.

Better coordination in long-term planning for foreign visiting faculties allow them to plan their personal and professional lives to accommodate longer or shorter terms of stay and service in Pakistan.

Great potential

The ultimate goal of improving the quality of education by bringing experienced faculty on board takes time to achieve. In the meantime, the presence of foreign visiting faculty is a great asset to students. By introducing new methods of teaching and learning, the foreign visiting faculty already saw some changes in their students, as indicated by the increased level of discussion in student seminars.

An education system that supports academic flexibility and freedom is imperative for Pakistan to attract world-class faculty. A collaborative work environment coupled with opportunities to undertake research work and to use the potential of bright students to become leading research teams in making scientific discoveries, for example, are strong considerations for faculty to commit long-term to an institution.

In the current world where easy mobility and an increased demand for the brightest minds creates fierce global competition, educational institutions in Pakistan must meet the necessary standards to attract the best faculty. Pakistan can only achieve this goal by improving the quality of its academic culture, increasing academic freedom and flexibility and providing support for the long-term projects it needs

Foreign visiting faculties offer a rare window of communication and collaboration with the developed world. Their availability for discussions, updates and research might be of great interest and help to local communities. They can offer a bridge to some of the best foreign institutions, their resources and information about grants, donor agencies and other potential collaborators interested in research. Foreign faculties can serve not just as ambassadors for their colleagues, students, institutions and their country, but by using their professional influence can be a great resource for many future projects.

The presence of experts and world renowned professionals for short or long terms should be taken advantage of not just by the hosting institutions, but also the academic community at large. HEC could recruit these professionals and academics to teach at other universities in addition to their assigned institution so that more students and colleagues can benefit from their experience and knowledge. A research or educational institution can only be as good as the faculty that it attracts, and the dedication with which this faculty teaches and inspires students.

Programmes like the foreign visiting faculty that introduce new methods of pedagogy, attracting world-class faculty from local as well as international sources and producing high-quality new teachers at home are very much needed and these efforts must be supported and encouraged from HEC and the local hosting institutions.

(The writers are grateful to foreign faculty, many of whom shared their experiences at Pakistani institutions for this article.)

The writers work for the Promotion of Education in Pakistan Foundation, Inc., USA. info@pepfoundation.org