Monumental decision.

Pakistan's below-par higher education standards are not hidden from anyone. The overarching reason for this is demotivation and dissatisfaction among faculty and staff. Faculty members of different universities boycotting classes due to delays in salary payments, salary discrepancies and other issues with the administration have become frequent occurrences. In a bid to address this problem, the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives has set up a 21-member task force to review and improve the pay scale system in higher education institutions (HEIs).

This decision should have been taken long ago, but better late than never. The task force will introduce new competitive and market-based pay scales to retain the most competent and resourceful academics to lead the country in research and academia. This will be critical in redeeming Pakistan's academia, which has failed to keep pace with global research and innovation. It is worth mentioning that nepotism, corruption and bribery have long plagued the public...