Public universities face faculty attrition as Tenure Track System salaries remain frozen since 2021: report

Pakistan’s public universities are facing growing concerns over faculty attrition as salaries of researchers and professors hired under the Tenure Track System (TTS) have remained unchanged since 2021 despite rising inflation and higher taxation, The Express Tribune reported. 

Officials and faculty representatives said the prolonged salary freeze has affected highly qualified PhD researchers and teachers recruited under the performance-based system introduced in 2002 to attract skilled academics to public universities through salaries higher than regular government pay scales.

According to details submitted to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, the last recruitment under the TTS was made in 2020, and faculty members have since faced increasing attrition.

The issue was discussed during a meeting chaired by Minister of State for Finance Bilal Kayani on Tuesday with representatives of tenure-track faculty members. Participants of the meeting said no final agreement was reached, although the Finance Ministry indicated support for a one-time salary increase.

However, the proposed adjustment may exclude certain allowances, reducing the overall financial impact for the faculty members.

According to the briefing shared with Finance Ministry and Senate Standing Committee on Finance, prices increased by 87% over the past five years while the tax burden on TTS employees rose by 81%, with no corresponding increase in salaries.

In 2021, minimum monthly salaries under the TTS stood at Rs175,500 for assistant professors, Rs263,250 for associate professors and Rs394,875 for professors. These salaries have remained unchanged since then.

The presentation given to the parliamentary committee stated that if annual revisions had been applied over the past five years, salaries would have increased to around Rs328,000 for assistant professors, Rs492,000 for associate professors and Rs738,000 for professors.

Faculty members hired under the regular Basic Pay Scale (BPS) system received cumulative salary increases of around 71% during the same period.

Officials informed the standing committee that around 4,000 faculty members have not received any salary increase over the past five years.

President Association of Pakistan Tenure Track Teachers (APTTA) Dr Asif Ali said the association had been in talks with the Finance Division since November last year regarding a revision in salaries.

He said a task force formed in 2023 under Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal had proposed linking TTS salaries with the BPS framework used at Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), along with a 35% premium as TTS allowance to maintain competitive compensation levels.

According to Dr Asif Ali, the recommendations were not implemented.

An additional secretary of finance informed the parliamentary committee that although the proposed revision was not a legal obligation, the government was supportive of the adjustments and the matter remained under process. Officials said efforts were being made to expedite the case but no timeline had been finalised.