Implementation of Tenure Track System Reform in Pakistan: A Contextual Analysis

Abstract

Tenure Track System was introduced in Pakistan in the year 2004 following the New Public Management influenced higher education reforms in 2002. Focusing on this intervention, the study aimed to assess and evaluate the Tenure Track System implementation in higher education institutions (HEI’s) exploring its implementation status, identifying challenges faced by stakeholders, role of institutional factors in this regard to get an overall idea regarding effectiveness of the performance oriented reform in actually improving teaching and research performance in higher education institutions of Pakistan, and lastly the analysis of the importance of contextual factors involved in reform implementation. A total of 39 interviews were conducted using purposive/stakeholder sampling and a thematic analysis was conducted on the qualitative data using NVIVO. Some of the major findings include, ignorance of context and prerequisites of this reform, ambiguities in the statutes, lack of comprehension on part of stakeholders, capacity issues of universities as well as the regulatory body & lack of accountability.

Keywords: New Public Management, Tenure Track System, Context, Capacity Building, Reform Analysis, Institutional Perspective