The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan is at a significant crossroads. The last 20 years have been about growth in the number of PhDs, campuses, and published research. Yet, with greater global outreach towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and a knowledge-based economy, Pakistan has been caught in the trap of quantity over quality.
No place can be riskier than the so-called Y category of HEC-recognised journals. The HEC Journal Recognition System (HJRS) categorises journals as W, X, and Y. W and X journals are typically listed in prestigious worldwide databases, whereas the Y category is a space provided by HEC for local journals aiming to become internationally recognised.
However, this practice has turned into a space of mediocrity. Such a mechanism has fostered a culture of paper mills, in which most journals have shifted their focus to Article Processing Charges (APCs) rather than academic integrity. It is no secret that there are Y-category journals that are peer-reviewed and published within 48 to 72 hours.
A legitimate review in serious disciplines such as International Law or Climate Policy requires eight to twelve weeks. The fact that a journal publishes a paper in three days is not research; it is selling a certificate. It is a disgrace to honest researchers, and it builds a system of publication mills and a loss of serious research, buried under a mountain of academic output that can be read and read again.
The difference between our local Y journals and those in other countries is striking. Truth is preserved in the top journals, where up to 85 per cent of submissions are rejected. Conversely, most local Y-category journals have acceptance rates of almost 90 per cent. Nothing is good where everybody can be published.
Moreover, global databases require a high level of technical compliance, including appropriate digital frameworks and storage. Numerous Y-category sites are either outdated or broken. These journals are also dominated by unrecognised institutions, and most of them foster publication rather than intellectual discourse. As a result, Pakistani scholarship stands nowhere in the academic research world.
The Y category is to be considered probationary for three years, not permanent. When a journal fails to gain citations or to become internationally indexed during this period, it should lose its status
The HEC needs to cease being a journal recogniser and become a strategic investor in order to rescue the academic future. The Quality Assurance Division cannot afford to stay on paperwork and must start auditing the actual publication process. The HEC must monitor submission-to-publication times, and journals found to have published research within 30 days must be permanently delisted.
The 48-hour peer review system should end. The HEC should not dilute its resources across hundreds of mediocre journals; instead, it should select the best 20 per cent of Y-category journals that have a real chance. A grant system should be provided to these journals to develop their technology and achieve international standards within three years.
The HEC ought to direct that not more than 20 per cent of the articles in journals are from their host university to foster fairness and international stature. The editorial boards are to be reorganised so that at least half of international individuals and 30 per cent of other national university members are represented.
Also, the HEC must directly subsidise these journals to facilitate Platinum Open Access, in which neither the author nor the reader pays. This removes the incentive for journals to accept poor work for profit by eliminating Article Processing Charges. Nothing can be done to reinstate the moral foundation of our national research except by doing so.
Lastly, the Y category is to be considered probationary for three years, not permanent. When a journal fails to gain citations or to become internationally indexed during this period, it should lose its status. This rule of publish or perish should not be limited to faculty, but also applies to journals. Graduates are already being looked down upon in foreign countries because their resumes are full of Y-category publications.
The HEC needs to be bold enough to shut down paper mills and prudent enough to invest in the best. It is our duty towards our students and the future intellectual life of our country to ensure that Pakistani research is perceived as a contribution to the world, not a commodity for sale.
In our pursuit of international partners for new undertakings, we are developing a Centre of Excellence in Law and Policy Research to build a reputation based on the quality of our journal(s). In this scenario, we also request HEC to support real-time and honest researchers through such initiatives as research centres and think tanks.