June 29, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-us-Sani 24, 1429

KARACHI, June 28: A bill will be introduced in the provincial assembly on Monday to award university status to the Chandka Medical College, Larkana, and rename it after the slain chairperson of PPP, Benazir Bhutto.

Sindh Health Secretary Shafiq A. Khoso on Saturday said that the law department had already vetted the charter documents pertaining to the college and the bill would be placed before the legislators for discussion and approval on June 30. It would be third public sector medical university in the province, he said.

Established with an initial intake of 150 medical students in 1973, the CMC was located in a building of the then Government Polytechnic Institute and DC High School in Larkana. Offering accommodation to 1,200 students, the college today benefits the population of upper Sindh, adjoining areas of Balochistan as well as part of lower Punjab. At present the college is recognised by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council and the General Medicine Council and LUMHS for FCPS, MD, MPhil, MCPS and various other diploma courses. The College of Physicians and Surgeons also maintains its regional centre at the CMC.

The proposed varsity to be named as Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Medical University would have the CMC, Nawabshah Medical College, Ghulam Mohammad Mehar Medical College and Gambat Institute of Medical Science as its constituent units, the secretary said.

Uniform policy

The health secretary said the administrations of the Dow University of Health Sciences and other medical colleges and university had been informed about the chief minister’s latest directives that a uniform admission policy regarding admissions to MBBS and BDS programme be adopted for 2008-09 session and authorities concerned should refrain from holding entry test before the declaration of HSC annual examination results.

However, he regretted that one of the varsities (DUHS) was sticking to its earlier decision by conducting entry tests involving over 5,000 candidates who were yet to clear the intermediate exams. He said his department was failing to get compliance on the CM directives as DUHS had not sent anything in writing on the matter so far. —Staff Reporter