KARACHI, May 26: The Dow University of Health Science’s Syndicate has approved appointments of 167 teachers against the vacant posts in 40 different units and varied departments pertaining to basic and clinical sciences of the varsity. DUHS Vice-Chancellor Prof Masood Hameed talking to APP here on Thursday said transparency had been maintained in the selection procedure of these teachers and that an elaborate procedure with focus on merit was adopted for the same.
According to him following the advertisements in all major dailies a large number of applications were received till the closing date of application (Dec 2004) and only those were invited who fulfilled the minimum criterion, as per the PMDC rule, of major qualification, ie holding degrees in FCPS or FRCS or MRCPG or MRCOG.
Hence, some 500 applicants, meeting the minimum criterion were invited for interview by a selection board comprising DUHS vice-chancellor, deans of its different faculties, chairpersons of its concerned departments, two nominees of the syndicate, one nominee of the Sindh High Court chief justice (himself a judge of SHC), besides technical experts in respective fields.
Prof Hameed giving further details of the selection board said its members included Prof A.G. Biloo, MPA Akhter Bilgrami, Justice Maqbool Baqar, dean of faculties and departmental heads and DUHS vice-chancellor were the permanent members of the selection board.
The interviews which were conducted from February to April this year for the posts of professors, associate professors and assistant professors finally led to the appointment of 167 teachers.
Twenty eight of the teachers appointed for the DUHS are those who had been serving at the Sindh government managed teaching units (mainly from Karachi) and 46 of them are from private colleges and university - including seven working abroad but had applied for the above cited posts and did appear for the interview, in person.
Replying to a query Prof Hameed said 93 of the teachers were those already serving at the DUHS and who were deemed fit by the selection board, following interviews and their respective presentation, to be promoted from demonstrator to assistant professor and assistant professor to associated professor and associate professor to professors.
The selection took place on the basis of qualifications, experience and presentations of the candidates, he said. Total score of each candidate was amalgamated on basis of marks he was given by each member of the selection board; the vice-chancellor elaborated mentioning that the strategy was to avert any pressure on any of the board member.
Answering another question, he said in the Cardiology, Nephrology, Radiology and Eye Departments certain posts could not be filled as none of the applicant was found to be meeting the standard and strict criterion adopted by the selection board.
The vice-chancellor also mentioned that as per the recommendations of the PMDC and DUHS Charter there would be one professor, one associate professor and two assistant professors in each of the DUHS/CHK units.
Earlier, he mentioned that the teaching institutions which were part of the university including Dow and Sindh medical colleges had not been inspected by the PMDC since 1992.
There were many of the teaching faculty members who were fully qualified but not promoted, he mentioned maintaining that there was urgency to address the situation but with extreme caution as it was directly linked with the capabilities of students who had to treat diseases and serve the ailing humanity.
In this context, Prof Hameed also mentioned that the DUHS had embarked upon a wide range of projects meant to meet the shortage of health care professionals including nurses, dentists, technicians, physiotherapists etc.
The Institute of Oral Health Sciences of DUHS would become operational from March 2006, he said adding that interviews of faculty for the institute would commence from next month.—APP
