Teachers, philosophers and reformists have always been the torchbearers in the nation building process. Education is the source of enlightenment and progress for nations.
In the first seven centuries of its history, Islam was the most dynamic and progressive religion of that era. The importance of "Muallim" (teacher) has always been emphasised in Islam and by the great Islamic scholars thus being the pioneering creed of the learning renaissance.
This spirit for learning put the Muslims ahead of all the nations up to the 7th century AD. The knowledge, technology and inventions, were solely the product of Muslim philosophers and scholars of that era, when the West was in darkness. Alas, it was not long before the West, which robbed the Muslims of their knowledge, changed the tides with the help of some deliberate manipulations. Their libraries were destroyed, their books were used as fuel for steam baths and the Nile was soaked with ink from the books thrown in them. Most of the science, philosophy and astronomy literature were adapted and used as text books in the Western universities. Not only this but as conquerors they devised an education system for their Muslim subjects, which was stagnant and stoic.
This system was meant to produce Huffaz without any awareness or insight to the divine message or the knowledge beyond that. Consequently, the Muslim Empire plunged into an age of darkness, which has left us still under-developed and desperately trying to cope up with the rapid advancements of the West in every sphere of life.
Pakistan, a part and parcel of this system, has yet to come together as a nation and is still wrangling in the politics of ethnicity, regionalism and religion. The extreme lack of education that hampers our way to progress, threatens our unity, sovereignty and above all, our very existence.
One wonders, what is in the minds of our economic wizards when they allocate a negligible sum of money to "quality education" (1.80% of the GDP). With deceptive concepts like that of 'enlightened moderation' and westernisation, which are in themselves causes of conflict, how is a country supposed to flourish? While the super powers go rocketing away to other heavenly bodies for new discoveries, our country fights with the curse of ghost schools.
In such adversity, Dr Atta-ur-Rehman realised the impediments and obstructions in our way to progress. He came up with some positive steps in education structure like the introduction of Tenure Track System by Higher Education Commission (HEC).
The TTS, though it is still in its nascent stage, if properly implemented and sustained is a guarantee to answer the modern day teaching needs. This system is based on the idea of providing basic facilities to the teachers, which would make them feel responsible to deliver. Under this system the faculty members are put to continuous study, research and interaction with the fast growing world and development.
To be eligible for the senior ranks under TTS, that is associate professor and professor, a candidate must have pre and post PhD experience and certain number of publications in international abstract journals, recognised by HEC. The salary of the rank of professor is minimum Rs 180,000 /month and an increment of Rs 8,800 with a maximum of Rs 312,500 per month. Similarly, for the post of associate professor, minimum and maximum salary is Rs 120,000 and Rs 226,250 respectively, while for the junior rank of assistant professor, it is Rs 80,000 minimum and Rs 161,000 maximum.
This salary scale will most certainly attract well-qualified teachers, scientists and researchers for teaching, who otherwise would opt for going abroad. Some of our teachers are already returning back and applying for the posts of Foreign Faculty Members under TTS.
Interestingly, there is a strong opposition for the implementation of this system in certain public sector varsities, University of Peshawar (UoP) being one of them. Shafiq-ur-Rehman, Chairman Environmental Sciences, UoP, was of the view that TTS is devised for certain individuals as more than 90 percent of Pakistani teachers are not eligible for this. He maintained that of the total 13,000 university teachers, two third two by three are not PhDs. He criticised certain points in TTS model and said that they (HEC) are going to frustrate those people who are not eligible. He further said that in the selection process, the role of HEC is not justified.
Answering this point, Altafullah Khan, Assistant Professor at the department of Journalism and Mass Communication, UoP, rebutted that HEC is financially supporting the teachers working under TTS by giving them direct salary and the university and students are saved from extra charges, so the role of HEC in the selection is well justified.
He added that the present criterion is mild enough but the Teachers' Union is not ready to accept it. Ironically, the first draft that was harsh, in which the medical, housing and pension facilities were not given, was supported by those same teachers who oppose it now.
The ground reality is that the enhancement of quality education in UoP and certain other public sector institutions is a wishful dream, which has yet to see the light of the day. It is now high time to rescue those teachers and researchers, which are well qualified and an asset to this nation, from the political coalition of certain teachers working in educational institutions. The government's role is not only for the introduction of such systems, but also for its proper implementation in our campuses.
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