January 25, 2006	Wednesday	Zilhaj 24, 1426

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PESHAWAR, Jan 24: Students of the Girls campus of the Khyber Medical College (KMC) have expressed concern over conversion of their campus into an independent medical college one year after their admission. The new campus is yet to be recognised by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), the students said.

“We left our recognised medical colleges and got transferred to the girls’ campus to get an opportunity to be student of the KMC and get a degree from a medical college which is a prestigious institution and is widely recognised,” said a student who had joined to the girls’ campus after leaving the Ayub Medical College about a year ago.

A notification of the health department issued last month said that the former girls’ campus of the KMC in Hayatabad would now be as an independent medical college and had been renamed as the Khyber Girls Medical College (KGMC). The sudden conversion of the campus into a medical college has caused concern among the students about their future.

The government is yet to advertise posts for the faculty of the college affiliated to the University of Peshawar and Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).

The KGMC has its own building and infrastructure with the Hayatabad Medical Complex being its teaching hospital.

“The KMC last year helped the students in getting admission to the girls’ campus by providing them hostel, teachers and laboratory facilities. But from this year they will be students of the KGMC instead of the KMC”, an official said.

The provincial government had established a separate campus for girl students in Hayatabad in April, 2005, to introduce segregation in the Khyber Medical College.

However, girl students of the KMC refused to join the separate campus due because of lack of facilities. Therefore, students of other medical college were given an opportunity to get admission in the girl’s campus of the KMC.

Students of the girls’ campus termed the college authorities decision unethical, because, they said, they had lured students studying in other medical colleges of the province to move to the girls’ campus because it was the ‘KMC campus’.

“Now we have lost our identity as students of the KMC, a prestigious medical college of the province,” said a student, adding that almost all students, now in second year, were against the decision of turning the campus into a new medical college.

“We may face the problem of recognition by the PMDC as no staff has been appointed so far and no proper lab facilities are there at the campus”, said a student. And for the time being visiting teaching staff of the KMC was taking classes at the new campus named as KGMC, said a student.

Zia-ul-Islam, the project director and head of the KGMC, said that the campus was part of the KMC when it was launched but it would be an independent college.

Whether the second-year students, who had joined the campus, would get the KMC or the KGMC degree was yet to be decided, Mr Islam said.

“If the college is recognised by the PMDC after some time, it should not make any difference to the students if they get the MBBS degree of the KMC or the KGMC. It is not an issue”, said Mr Islam.

“The college has its own infrastructure and the posts for professors, assistant and associate professors will soon be advertised to develop the teaching staff of the college”, said Mr Islam. About 50 girl students were admitted to the first year MBBS at the KGMC last month, Mr Islam said. Initially the KGMC will be affiliated to the Peshawar University and to later to a medical university which the province plans to set up.