LAHORE: Chief minister's assurance fails to satisfy UHS
By Mansoor Malik
LAHORE, July 25: Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has reportedly held out an assurance to the University of Health Sciences that the King Edward Medical College, after its up-gradation as university
, will be granted a degree-awarding status but not affiliation powers.
The chief minister gave the assurance at a meeting attended by UHS board of governors' chairman Prof Dr Mahmood Ahmad Chaudhry, vice-chancellor Prof Dr Malik Husain Mubashar and Punjab Health Minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed here on Sunday.
Sources said that the UHS BoG chairman and the vice-chancellor were, however, not satisfied with the chief minister's explanation as they saw the Punjab government move threatening to the UHS cause.
The chief minister reportedly told the UHS that the Punjab government was ready to transfer it authority regarding students' migration matters as well as entrance test for admission to MBBS first year classes.
The two issues are currently under the KEMC purview. The chief minister said the government was satisfied with the functioning of the UHSand would extend it all-out support. According to the sources, Prof Chaudhry had criticized the announcement giving university status to the KEMC and said that universities did not come up with mere announcements.
He also said that the KEMC had been given a go-ahead thrice by Gen Jillani, Gen Ziaul Haq and Benazir Bhutto but there was no outcome. He also rejected argument that the KEMC was being granted the university status merely because it had rich historical background as a well-reputed and recognized institution of the subcontinent.
It may be mentioned that the chief minister had announced the grant of the university status to the KEMC while addressing teachers and students after laying the foundation stone of a new block of the Girls' Hostel on July 23.
When the chief minister reportedly asked Prof Chaudhry to give reasons for his opposition to the move, he said that it would simply damage the UHS cause. The sources said that Prof Chaudhry had also offered to step down from the UHS BoG chairmanship if the government had problems with him.
The meeting did not discuss what would be the status of the Fatima Jinnah Medical College which was granted exemption from affiliation with the UHS along with the KEMC. Health Minister Dr Javed, it may be added, was on record saying the FJMC would be affiliated with the KEMC university.
Talking to Dawn, Prof Chaudhry said the upgradation of the KEMC was meant to accommodate those sons and daughters of rich and influential people who could not secure required marks through the normal process which was highly competitive.
"Political clout and owners of private medical colleges are the moving force behind the decision," he believed. He said if the Punjab government was determined to go ahead with the plan, it should grant the degree-awarding status to other medical colleges as well.
When contacted, Punjab health secretary Sohail Ahmad said the chief minister had so far made an announcement regarding upgradation of the KEMC as a university. He said the KEMC would be granted the status after legislation in this regard as was done in the case of the UHS.
Regarding the UHS's protest against the announcement, he said he had not received any complaint from the university authorities. The health minister was not available for comments.
