The online access to international journals is restricted to a few people while 85 percent university teachers have no access to the international journals.
Newly elected president of Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations, (FAPUASA) Dr Nasim Sarwar of Karachi University Teachers' Society stated this while addressing a press conference after two-day meeting at Punjab University on Thursday.
The meeting elected office-bearers of the federation, which include Professor Dr Aqeel Ahmad, Secretary Karachi University Teachers Society, as secretary, Professor Dr Mahr Muhammad Saeed Akhtar, vice-president of Academic Staff Association of Punjab University as vice-president of the federation.
While briefing the newsmen about decisions taken in the two days meeting, Dr Nasim said the meeting unanimously passed a resolution against the Western newspapers for publishing blasphemous caricatures. The meeting also agreed on Tenure Track System (TTS) Version 1.9, which was prepared by FAPUASA during different previous meetings and it was decided that the same will be discussed with the Chairman Higher Education Commission for final approval. It was our demand that the TTS must be approved by statutory bodies of the universities concerned prior to its implementation. HEC supervisor's policy should be revised to include all the Ph.D. teachers. HEC criteria for publication of research articles should be adopted after 5 years and meantime, the teachers should be allowed to get published their articles in the local journals of ISI index standard because they have to wait for years to get appearance in the international journals resulting in delay of their promotion, he maintained.
The meeting demanded of the government to allow grade 18 to 21 to the university teachers instead of 17 to 20. The meeting also asked the authorities to make recruitment even on contract basis through selection boards to ensure merit, he said.
He said that appointment of vice-chancellors must be made among the academicians instead of retired army generals or bureaucrats. Responding to a question, he said that army generals or bureaucrats have been appointed as vice-chancellors in Punjab University, Lahore, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Quetta University, Sindh University Jamshoro, NED University of Engineering, University of Engineering Peshawar and, Islamia University Bahawalpur.
While criticising chairman HEC, Dr Nasim said that he is implementing US universities model by cutting and pasting from Internet and without ascertaining their suitability to our culture and system. Instead, the policies must correspond our culture, system and needs. He claimed that Dr Atta ur Rehman is even not included in the top 500 best scientists of the world. Dr Atta, even does not know the classroom problems because he had never taught any class in his life, he alleged.
About availability of funds from HEC, he admittedly said the HEC has provided substantial funds for raising infrastructure but not for the faculty or students facilities.
Answering another question, Dr Nasim said that research culture was not promoted in the universities, hence government must raise appropriate funds for this purpose. If government wants to promote research culture in the country, it must ensure necessary facilities to the university teachers, he added.
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