Are you really a Lecturer ?









"Ok. Mr. Imran, your CV indicates that you are serving as a visiting lecturer in a university. Are you really a lecturer?

This question of the interviewer led to an interesting conversation.



"Yes. I am a visiting lecturer". I responded quickly.


"Ok. Mr. Imran. I want to thank you for coming today. Do you have any questions?"



"Yes. I have a question." I replied. "The subjects and the major topics I teach at university are mentioned in the CV. Most of the technical questions asked during interview are relevant to those subjects. I am sure that I answered those correctly. Why is it dubious that I am a lecturer?”



"No doubt, you answered all the questions correctly." He replied "Actually, in our region, a person who is not PhD is only eligible to be a lecturer if he has at least 10 years professional/industry experience. That's why I asked to make sure."



"I am teaching as a lecturer for two years and my professional/industry experience is twelve years as mentioned in CV.” I replied with a smile. "By the way, in our country, I have not heard about such eligibility criteria."



"Mr. Imran, It takes 15 to 18 years for a professional to be eligible for a lecturer. The selection board does not consider the vacations, irrelevant projects, and other non-professional activities as the professional/industry experience.". He explained.



The conversation ended here with curiosity in my mind to know the eligibility criteria for a lecturer in Pakistan. 

The Lecturer

The lecturer is an educationist who teaches the students in Higher Education Institute. The students are the future of any country. It is the lecturer who controls the path of the students in a true sense as he is the one who is in direct contact with students most of the time. A good lecturer is the one who can make his students true and competitive professionals with his own experience, expertise and knowledge. Therefore, it is very essential to have professionally qualified Lecturer to ensure the right development of students. For nurturing the young graduates and training them according to industry requirements, a good lecturer himself require topmost knowledge and industry experience.  

Career in Academia

The career in  academia starts from Lectureship in any Higher Education Institution (HEI).  The eligibility criteria and minimum qualifications for appointment of lecturers and other faculty positions is formulated solely by Higher Education Commission (HEC). The HEC is an independent, autonomous, and statutory institution of primary funding, overseeing, regulating, and accrediting the higher education institutions in Pakistan.  It operates directly under the Prime Minister and is not subservient to the Ministry of Education. Under new and revised reforms, the HEC is made responsible for formulating higher education policy and quality assurance to meet international standards as well as providing accrediting academic degrees, development of new institutions, and uplift of existing institutions in Pakistan. Over the several years, the HEC plays an important and leading role towards building a knowledge-based economy in Pakistan by giving out hundreds of doctoral scholarships for education abroad every year.

The career in academia starts from Lectureship in any Higher Education Institution (HEI). According to HEC, MS Graduates are eligible for the position of a Lecturer based on good academic records. The Lecturer upgrades to the next faculty position of an Assistant Professor only after a PHD Degree (Still no any experience required).


HEC Eligibility Criteria for a Lecturer and other faculty positions 



A lecturer has various opportunities to apply for scholarship/funding from foreign universities. HEC also facilitates by financing for PHD programs locally as well as abroad. Ultimately, qualification for the post of a Full professor can be achieved by teaching for 15 years and publishing research papers in journals.

Job Opportunities as Lecturer

The number of seats for the teaching positions in a HEI is limited and usually less than the students enrolled and graduating annually. As such, only a couple of students may have the opportunity to pursue a career in academia starting as lecturer. Mostly graduates have to look up for jobs in the industry.

A lecturer having no professional/industry experience will deliver whatever he was taught during graduation program. Since he will not have any insight about industry and due to unawareness about recent advancements and innovations in industry, he will be limited to deliver the theoretical, ineffective and inapplicable knowledge to the students. Ultimately, the graduates will pass out without any perception, vision and intelligence which are required to pursue the career in industry. Industry often complains about non availability of quality resources.  These students do excellent job in interviews but cannot perform well in practical scenarios. Industry seldom provides on job trainings; but at the cost of valuable productivity. This academia-industry gap results in increase of unemployment due to limited seats and deficiency of required skills followed by other consequent social problems. 

This article aims at getting  the attention of readers, students, teachers, policy makers and other authorities on the core issue of the need to amend eligibility criteria for posts in HEI in Pakistan. The topic is open for discussion with the following suggestions to conclude:




·       Industry experience should be mandatory for a lecturer. If it is inevitable to amend the eligibility criteria then the candidates having industry experience should be given preference.
·       Lecturers serving in academia should be deputed for some duration in any private/public organizations to have industry experience.
·       Academia should invite industry professionals with relevant subject knowledge to share practical insights with lecturers as well as students.
·       Research topics addressing core industry problems should be taken up for a more practical approach rather than pure theoretical basis.












Comments

  1. Nasir Geographer24 September 2019 at 23:43

    You are absolutely right. I usually think if lecturer has no professional/ industry experience, how can he produce market oriented professionals, he may only produce lecturer like himself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shahid Karim9 January 2020 at 16:14

      I strongly agree with your opinion, and i have face these things before getting selected as lecturer, unfortunately, in our country , only the CGPA matters, no matter what the crticial and analytical approach a candidate have. Same is the case with enrolement of PhD. They only demand higher CGPA.

      Delete
  2. Sami Ullah Khan25 September 2019 at 10:44

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sami Ullah Khan25 September 2019 at 10:52

    100 % agree with you sir.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Umair Asghar Mughal25 September 2019 at 12:37

    Imran sb its very comprehensive blog for lecturership in Pakistan. But you should start this blog from an interesting paragraph.The paragraph which must creat few questions in readers mind and curiosity.This will be magnate force for writer.
    Selection of title adds value too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unknown30 January 2020 at 12:34

    The University management should be sensitized on the need for such, so as to be released for the period of further acquisition of knowledge and industry based experience. Most of us who are aware of this vital need are just trying our little best on a personal basis to get improved in our skills

    ReplyDelete
  6. Unknown30 January 2020 at 12:35

    The University management should be sensitized on the need for such, so as to be released for the period of further acquisition of knowledge and industry based experience. Most of us who are aware of this vital need are just trying our little best on a personal basis to get improved in our skills. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  7. Unknown20 April 2020 at 21:51

    True bro
    Thanks for the tip... It's really an eye opener

    ReplyDelete

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