BEING a university student, I have closely observed that while some members of the visiting faculty are truly great, others lack even basic teaching skills and due methodology. Such teachers can do nothing more than reading out text from the slides they bring to the classroom. They seriously lack teaching skills and knowledge of their subject. Are teachers required to merely read from the slides? Do such ‘teachers’ serve any purpose? Are university administrations that hire these teachers not aware of this issue?

The harsh reality is that these teachers are selected and preferred over competent and more qualified ones on the basis of ‘connections’. To rub salt into the wounds, once these underqualified, inexperienced individuals are recruited, they remain there for a long time, perhaps forever, blocking any chance for highly-qualified people who may be an asset for the uni-versity and a source of knowledge and inspiration for their students.

Unfortunately, this culture in higher education negatively affects the students, and all but destroys their future. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) must ensure that all affiliated universities recruit properly qualified visiting faculty with a temperament for teaching instead of incompetent, underqualified individuals.

Sadam Hussain
Ghotki

Published in Dawn, October 22th, 2024