January 16, 2008	Wednesday	Muharram 06, 1429

PESHAWAR, Jan 15: Owing to the non-implementation of the prime minister’s directives regarding upgradation of their posts, teachers of basic medical sciences at Khyber Medical University (KMU) are opting to quit their jobs and join other institutes, sources say.

“The prime minister had announced upgradataion of all universities’ teachers on World Teachers’ Day last year. So all teachers were upgraded in the light of these directives except the teaching staff of basic medical sciences,” a faculty member said.

Last month, the KMU administration promoted 55 professors of clinical medical sciences from BPS-20 to BPS-21, whereas those working at the basic medical sciences were denied the same on the ground that they didn’t possess PhD degrees.

The sources said that the KMU was also upgrading the posts of senior registrars, assistant professors and associate professors of the clinical sciences, according to the rules of Higher Education Commission (HEC).

About 20 teachers including professors, associate and assistant professors of Anatomy, Forensic Sciences, Biochemistry, Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Community Medicines at KMU have left their jobs and the rest are weighing the option to quit their services and join private medical colleges for better salaries and incentives.

The medical sciences teachers told Dawn that rules of HEC for the promotion of teachers were against the directives of prime minister. According to HEC rules only those university teachers will stand eligible for promotion who posses PhD degrees.

200 teachers at four constituent colleges of KMU also sent a letter to HEC chairman in this regard, complaining about what they called the discriminatory attitude against them. The letter said that almost all the universities in the country awarded PhD degrees in basic medical sciences, such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. But only two universities-- Postgraduate Medical Institute Lahore and Jamshoro Medical University Sindh-- offered PhD courses in basic medical sciences that were recognised by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).

It said that 12 senior teachers of basic medical sciences at a constituent college of KMU, including five professors, three associate professors and four assistant professors, recently quit their jobs and joined Khyber Girls Medical College to get better salaries.

An official at the KMU told Dawn that it would start offering PhDs in basic medical sciences soon to enable the complaining teachers to get promotion.