In Pakistan’s public universities, a quiet academic tragedy unfolds every semester. Lecturers with MPhils and PhDs—professionals who have spent years honing their knowledge and pedagogical skills—are hired on daily-wage contracts under the label of “visiting faculty.” They teach full courses, guide students, and perform all duties of regular teachers, yet their compensation is so minimal and irregular that many earn less than unskilled labourers. Some are not paid for months; others are left waiting a year.
This is not a new phenomenon, nor is it rare. It is the standard operating procedure in many public institutions. Visiting faculty are brought in just weeks before classes begin, with no job security, no benefits, and no formal protection. Despite contributing significantly to university rankings, research outputs, and teaching loads, they remain excluded from institutional recognition.
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has made no meaningful effort to address this form of professional precarity. Nor have universities demonstrated the will to reform. Excuses of budget shortages ring hollow when administrative staff enjoy pay increases and infrastructure projects continue unabated.
Even more alarming is the message this sends to the students. What do they learn when the people entrusted with their education are themselves treated with such disregard? What respect can be cultivated for knowledge when knowledge workers are denied even their due salary?
Pakistan’s academic future cannot rest on the unpaid or underpaid labour of its educators. The systemic exploitation of visiting faculty must end. The following steps are urgent and non-negotiable:
- Establish transparent and merit-based recruitment for long-term positions.
- Ensure timely payment and dignified compensation aligned with qualifications.
- Create clear pathways for regularization for lecturers who serve semester after semester.
- Provide basic employment protections such as maternity leave, health insurance, and seniority records.
The moral cost of inaction is staggering. But the intellectual cost—of disillusioned educators and declining teaching quality—will be even higher. If we are serious about reforming higher education, we must begin by valuing the people who teach.
Until then, we remain complicit in a system where those who educate are, ironically, the most devalued of all.
