One controversial issue that has featured in discussions about improving academic standards in public universities is the relevance of the Penilaian Tahap Kecekapan (PTK), a mechanism introduced by the government to gauge the level of competency of a civil servant.

The PTK, now a requirement for promotion and a merit increment, involves academics being made to go through a three-week course, after which they are to sit for and pass an examination. Since all academics, regardless of their disciplinary training, have to take this examination, the capacity of the PTK to assess the competency of university lecturers has been called into question.

At the University of Malaya (UM), lecturers have persistently complained that the PTK is an unnecessary impediment to their promotions, the criteria of which is already quite stringent. Promotions in the academy are based on the capacity of lecturers to research and publish, to train undergraduates and to supervise the dissertations of post-graduate candidates.

Presently, lecturers who had previously been short-listed but were unsuccessful in their applications to be appointed associate professors, now have to take at least two PTK courses before they are eligible to apply for the same post.

These same lecturers have also to sit for one PTK course before securing a promotion to the more junior (new) post of senior lecturer. There is presently an exercise in UM to promote lecturers to the post of senior lecturer.

UM's Human Resource Department has advised lecturers who have not attended the PTK course not to apply for this promotion. We understand that in spite of this, a number of lecturers who have not taken the PTK have submitted their applications for promotion to senior lecturer. We also understand that the deans of some faculties are considering these applications to the point of short-listing these candidates for interviews.

We appreciate that UM's academic management is sympathetic to the plight of these lecturers and applaud their decision to consider these applications even though they may not conform with current government regulations.

Our concern, however, is for the lecturers who have not applied for this promotion because they were advised not to do so. A major controversy will now erupt in UM if lecturers who have not attended the PTK are promoted to the post of senior lecturer

We suggest that rather than promote only those lecturers who have applied for promotion - with or without their PTK - UM automatically promote all lecturers to the position of senior lecturer if they have previously been short-listed for the post of associate professor.

Promotion to the position of senior lecturer should be based on teaching, research, publication and supervision record, and all academics who have fulfilled this criteria should also be automatically promoted under the present exercise. Alternatively, lecturers with a PhD who have been in service for at least five years and those with Masters degree and in service for seven years or more should be considered for promotion.

The present events in UM should serve as another indication to the government on the need to seriously review the PTK. Evidently, UM's management is aware of the injustices that prevail under the PTK and is seeking ways to bypass this unnecessary condition for promotion.

PKAUM has consistently argued that the PTK does not serve to improve academic standards and that it has been imposed on lecturers because they are categorised as civil servants. It is time that academics are placed under a separate category within the civil service.

The PTK has deeply undermined morale in UM and is one factor contributing to the brain drain in tertiary institutions.

The writer is the president of University Malaya's Academic Staff Union (PKAUM).