Pay packages have not changed for five years as the Finance Division remains reluctant to approve proposed increases for universities.
KARACHI:
Research scientists working in public universities across Pakistan have seen their salaries remain frozen for the past five years, with the Finance Division reportedly unwilling to approve salary increases. Sources say the 2026-27 federal budget is unlikely to include any improvements to their pay packages, including doctorates and other professional allowances.
Prolonged wage stagnation and the absence of significant relief in the upcoming budget have raised concerns about a growing brain drain, with fears that many of the country’s most talented researchers will seek opportunities abroad.
Researchers struggling with financial pressures say they are increasingly forced to take on externally funded projects to supplement their income, often at the expense of their main research activities.
Speaking to The Express PAkGazette, a researcher working under the Tenure Track System (TTS) said, “We are now trying to get scientific projects from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and other institutions to make ends meet. Although this affects our main research work, we have few options.”
The Tenure Track System was introduced by renowned scientist and former HEC Chairman Atta-ur-Rahman to attract highly qualified academicians and researchers to universities. Most TTS teachers have doctoral degrees from foreign institutions. However, due to stagnant salaries, many researchers have already left academia, leaving only about 3,600 TTS researchers in the system.
Sources said that when TTS appointments were first introduced, salaries were about double those under the Basic Pay Scale (BPS) system, because TTS teachers were subject to significantly stricter performance indicators and their work was reviewed every three years by international experts.
However, after five years without salary adjustments, TTS salaries have fallen far behind those of BPS faculty members. A task force set up by the Pakistan Planning Commission under the leadership of Ahsan Iqbal recommended in March this year that TTS salaries be aligned with those of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics salary structure, along with a 35 per cent bonus.
The recommendations were subsequently approved by the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, which directed the Finance Division to implement salary increases, based on the proposed formula. The HEC has also formally written to the Finance Division on the matter.
Despite these developments, sources say the Finance Division remains reluctant to accept the recommendations.
According to available figures, a BPS teacher in a university currently earns around Rs 500,000 a month, while a TTS teacher earns around Rs 350,000 after tax deductions. Similarly, a BPS associate professor earns approximately Rs 400,000, compared to around Rs 250,000 for a TTS associate professor. A BPS assistant professor earns approximately Rs 325,000, while a TTS assistant professor receives around Rs 150,000 after tax.
Several researchers at the University of Karachi’s Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IBCCS) continue to conduct high-quality research under the TTS, but their salaries remain frozen despite their academic contributions.
