ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has notified an increase in salaries for teachers serving under the Tenure Track System (TTS) and deferred the implementation of the post-PhD experience requirement for appointments of professors and associate professors on the Basic Pay Scale (BPS) until December 31, 2026.
According to a notification issued by HEC Director General Finance Ghulam Nabi on October 1, 2026, the revised TTS salary package will take effect from July 1, 2026. The notification was issued after approval by the Federal Government, conveyed by the Ministry of Finance through an office memorandum dated July 10, 2026.
Under the revised package, the minimum salary of a professor has been increased from Rs394,875 to Rs407,230, while the maximum salary has been raised from Rs684,450 to Rs712,030. The annual increment for professors has also been increased from Rs19,305 to Rs20,320.
Associate professors have been given a larger increase, with their minimum salary raised from Rs263,250 to Rs370,810 and maximum salary from Rs493,500 to Rs645,610. Their annual increment has been enhanced from Rs15,356 to Rs18,320.
For assistant professors, the minimum salary has been increased from Rs175,500 to Rs288,020 and the maximum salary from Rs356,475 to Rs553,820. Their annual increment has also been raised from Rs12,065 to Rs17,720.
The notification states that the revised salary table provides increases in minimum salary, annual increment and maximum salary for all three TTS teaching categories.
HEC said the basic pay of an employee who was already in service on June 30, 2026, will be fixed under TTS 2026 on a point-to-point basis. This means the employee will be placed at the corresponding stage in the new salary structure based on the stage he or she had reached above the minimum salary under the previous TTS package.
The notification clarified that the revised salary package will not create any additional financial liability for the Federal Government or HEC. Public sector universities will meet the financial impact of the increase from their own resources.
All other terms and conditions of the Tenure Track System will remain unchanged. HEC said any future revision in the TTS salary package by the Federal Government will also be notified by the commission.
The notification has been circulated to the offices of chancellors of public sector higher education institutions, provincial higher education departments, provincial higher education commissions, the higher education bodies of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and vice chancellors, rectors and heads of public sector universities and higher education institutions.
In a separate notification issued on October 2, 2026, HEC further deferred the implementation of the post-PhD experience requirement for the appointment of professors and associate professors on BPS in universities and degree-awarding institutions.
The requirement had set eight years of post-PhD experience for professors and four years for associate professors. HEC had earlier deferred its implementation through a notification issued on July 30, 2026.
The latest decision was taken in the 14th urgent meeting of the HEC Commission held on September 21, 2026. The notification, signed by Director General Coordination Shahzaib Abbasi, says the implementation has now been deferred until December 31, 2026.
HEC has made it clear that the December 31 deadline is final and the matter will not be considered for any further deferment beyond that date.
As a result, the post-PhD experience requirement will become strictly applicable from January 1, 2027, for appointments covered by the notification.
The two decisions provide salary relief for teachers serving under the Tenure Track System while giving universities and prospective candidates additional time before the post-PhD experience condition becomes compulsory for BPS appointments. However, the financial responsibility for the revised TTS salary package will rest with public sector universities, as HEC and the Federal Government will not bear any additional cost.
