HEC helpless in posting PhDs in universities

islamabad — The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has apparently failed to accommodate more than 650 PhDs, who have completed their studies from both local and foreign institutions, either on teaching or research posts.

The HEC had promised these scholars they would be given jobs in universities once they completed their doctorates.

Lamenting their dilemma, these scholars observed that the HEC had signed agreements and bonds with the management of universities and scholars under which those travelling abroad for studies were bound to return to the country, stay for five years in addition to teaching at universities for a year. But it seems that the HEC is finding it difficult to adjust these scholars as

many of them are without jobs.

Universities are bound to provide jobs to these scholars by advertising positions in national dailies, these scholars added.

These PhD scholars, who had completed their studies abroad on government-provided scholarships, expressed resentment that the HEC had failed to adjust them, even on intern basis. At the moment,

there are as many as 10,000 PhD scholars in the country, they said and pointed out that there was a pressing need for 38,000 scholars as stipulated by the HEC under the vision 2025.

Dr Shehri — an unemployed PhD scholar — observed that if the HEC was not well-positioned in providing jobs to the scholars, it should not have made their return compulsory.

“As many as $1,500 are spent as monthly stipend on a scholar for studying abroad besides other expenses, while those who completed their PhD degrees in the country were also sent abroad for six months for research work which also incurs heavy expenses,” a scholar Dr Syeda Samra said.

President of the Young PhD Scholars Association Dr Sher Afzal said that despite investing millions of rupees in these scholars the HEC was unable to adjust them in the academic institutions.

During the honorary period, the scholars are paid Rs130,000 per month by HEC, equal to the pay of a BPS-19 professor. But thereafter they were never inducted in the universities and remained jobless, he added. — APP