The debate that PhD should not be a requirement to teach in the university: My voice from afar!

The university is for teaching and research. Lecturers and Professors prepare course outlines, introduce lessons and conduct research.

Teaching is an art that any knowledgeable person who has a passion for it can do, irrespective of their academic levels. Hence, in the university, teaching is the sole responsibility of Teaching Assistants, Graduate Assistants, and Teaching Associates. You don't need to have PhD before you can teach at the university. Just apply for any of these ranks, if you want to teach at the university but have no PhD.

However, if you want to be taken as a lecturer or professor, you need to provide evidence that you have been well trained as a researcher and that you are an expert in research; and having PhD is the evidence.

Research is a strong economic pillar of every country. Any country that underrates research will be forever poor, regardless of the number of natural resources it has. Research is needed to convert natural resources into useful and exportable products. Thankfully, the universities have accepted that role; and to be successful in this challenge, they appoint people who have a strong research background.

Any lecturer or Professor who spends more time in teaching than in conducting research has deviated from the core mandate of the university; and needs to be called to order or be sacked, except he was hired for only teaching.

Research is more difficult than teaching. I don't think there would be a better researcher and research supervisor than the PhD scholar.

Anyway, there should be a standard for anything. As the number of people who qualify for a certain position increases, the standard needs to be elevated so that people will seek higher training and become more knowledgeable to make them experts in the field. This makes recruitment easier. It also promotes productivity.

Previously, a first degree was the highest academic achievement needed for certain jobs. However, when the number of first-degree holders increased, the standard was raised to a master’s degree and now to PhD. In advanced countries, you still need to have postdoctoral training before you can secure a faculty position.

The world is progressing, same as standards for jobs. So, we need to constantly update our knowledge to help us get certain jobs easily. The competition for jobs is unabated, but people with higher training will not struggle to get appointments.

The university is known for academics. So, to easily steer through the numerous applicants and secure a senior membership position in the university, do well to have the highest academic training. That is their standard.