A university is supposed to conduct research in almost every socio-political area of society to furnish innovative and practical solutions to prevailing situations to uplift society to the optimum level. But many universities, especially the young and budding ones, find many constraints on their part of the research. Mostly they keep on running their undergraduate programs and, for years, fail to enter the research-based degrees, so the real purpose of establishing a university keeps on waiting.
The situation is primarily because of the non-availability of qualified faculty to launch MS and Ph.D. programs as per the requirements of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. No substantial efforts are made to hire PhD doctors compulsory for such research work. And even if some universities have Ph.D. doctors available, they are so preoccupied with the responsibilities of their supervisees that no room is left for any improvement. Although HEC, through its multidimensional programs, has attempted to establish infrastructure and provide necessary Paraphernalia for research programs, many universities are still deficient in their facilities and staffing along with the laboratories and libraries. But the most essential thing required is qualified faculty.
On the one hand, many PhDs are found looking for jobs; on the other hand, we always deplore the unavailability of faculty. It is partially because of the cumbersome process involved in the recruitment procedures coupled with the internal and external politics. At the same time, private universities are booming with students and teachers at every level because they provide on-the-spot solutions to keep their programs running. There may be some loopholes or quality compromises, yet the private institutions are keeping the light of knowledge on.
I believe public sector universities are gradually falling far behind private ones because of insufficient faculty. It is a fact that there is no dearth of PhDs in our country. For example, many are working in the Government controlled schools and colleges. Such individuals can be hired temporarily, or their services can be borrowed on a deputation basis for a stop-gap arrangement. This arrangement may be made on a permanent or contract basis, but the research work should not be halted or suspended. Even in certain exceptional cases, there is no harm in engaging the services of foreign faculty who would be willing to involve with Pakistani universities. This will bring some more quality to the university work when the researchers would be in contact with experts from outside Pakistan. The same is the case with retired professionals. The HEC must incentivize retired professors to stay engaged in the research, especially until the universities can have fresh Ph.D. graduates. This will provide the chance to benefit from the field veterans and young faculty would get trained automatically.
Besides all these measures, it should be mandatory for the faculty to produce at least one book per year about their relevant expertise. Book writing should be an incentive, and the promotions of the faculty may be tied to producing such knowledge. These books may be relevant to the syllabi at multiple levels to benefit from the expertise of the university faculty for the students at all levels, on the one hand, and the books can prove critical solutions to the socio-political issues of the country. Moreover, scientific research can provide valuable guidance to future scientists and researchers. At this moment, it is not that necessary to get a book printed, it can be in any digital format, like PDF format also. Conferences and research meets are necessary for sharing knowledge, but it has not become a knowledge-sharing platform in our universities. Instead of heavy-weight conferences, short events like seminars, talks, workshops, and peer meetings should be frequently held to share knowledge and research across the board. A special section should deal with the MS and Ph.D. studies in connection.
All these measures to enhance the research level and efficiency have financial implications, which are already in trouble because of the increased cost and continuously dwindling sources of income. The universities may launch commercial production of articles of daily use as a practical demonstration of the research-based innovations. The IT and computational sectors can play a vital role. The food and nutrition area can also work wonders in this regard. This can provide jobs to the people and sufficient revenue to the university to fund the projects put in limbo because of the lack of funding. This and many other measures like this can enable the universities to fulfil their socio-political duty of providing research-based solutions. Improvement can be brought on a war footing, not by individuals in isolated spaces, like what is happening today, but by society’s concerted and collective effort. So, the HEC and the HED must join hands with the sources and pools in Pakistani society to provide a bright future to the next coming generations through the working of universities.
—The writer is a Professor of English at Emerson University, Multan, and has a vast international exposure.
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