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LAHORE, July 2: The University of Health Sciences on Wednesday defended in the Lahore High Court the affiliation of certain medical colleges in the Punjab with it, claiming that the students had no vested right to oppose it as the government had not made any representation to them before establishing the university.
While arguing the case for the UHS, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada stated before the full bench, headed by Justice Tassaduq Husain Jilani, that the right of the petitioner students to oppose the affiliation of their medical colleges with the UHS was not recognized by any law.
“The UHS Ordinance is not based on any contract or prior representation made to them (students) by the government to bind it to honour the petitioners’ claim for disaffiliation with the UHS. Rather the UHS has been established through a law, which itself is not a representation. A law can undo anything it wants,” he claimed.
Mr Pirzada argued that mere issuance of the last year’s prospectuses of different medical colleges, on the basis of which the students got admission to earn a degree recognized by the Punjab University, did not amount to a representation by the government. He cited two judgments of the Supreme Court delivered in the petitions challenging the reduction in the maximum age bracket for applying for the civil services.
In both the cases, he said, the SC had dismissed the pleas, ruling that the petitioners’ vested right to contest the reduction in the age bracket could only be invoked through a contract or a representation, which did not exist anywhere. “The case before this court is much weaker than those two decided by the SC, and has to be adjudged in the same context,” he added.
While defending the issuance of the UHS Ordinance 2002 by the Punjab governor, he contended that the creation of universities in any area other than the federal capital was the exclusive domain of the provinces, whose executive authority to set up a university could not be denied.
Mr Pirzada claimed that only the Quaid-i-Azam University and the Allama Iqbal Open University were set up under the federal statutes for being established in the federal capital. All the other universities in different provinces were established through provincial legislation. “Thus the creation of the UHS through a provincial ordinance stands established.”
He described the petitioners’ apprehensions about the foreign recognition of the UHS as mere ‘psychological syndrome,’ and added that the purpose of the UHS was to produce doctors in the country. “Does this country want that the students receive education here with the support of the government, which hardly affords to spend billions of rupees on their education, settle abroad for practice?,” he asked.
To a court query, he conceded that for the time being the UHS would act as an examining body, but even in that capacity it stood on much better footing compared to the Punjab University.
He also claimed that the PU was currently dealing in 105 courses and examining 150,000 students a year, including 10,000 medical students, while it had just one dean for its representation on the Pakistan Medical Dental Council’s strength of 105 members. He alleged that the paper marking system at the PU was discriminatory, as the papers were being marked by different examiners who could exercise their discretion while awarding grades. “They have got enough on their plate and nobody is taking away the PU’s right to examine the students,” he claimed. In Tokyo alone there were 143 universities compared to a fewer number of universities in Pakistan, he added.
He claimed that the UHS would conduct the examinations of the medical students on the lines of the PU.
The counsel would resume his arguments on Friday (tomorrow).
PUNJAB UNIVERSITY: Earlier, PU counsel Dr Basit argued that despite recognizing the UHS Ordinance as a valid statute, the PU was not willing to accept its provision binding it to stop setting up medical faculties and issuing further recognition to different medical colleges.
“The UHS Ordinance cannot take away this right of the PU because if such a provision is implemented, at least six to seven faculties of the PU — pharmacy, biochemistry, microbiology, institute of chemistry, DNA laboratories, centres of excellence — will be ruined, he argued while claiming that the PU still had the right to set up different medical faculties.
He argued that the PU did not want the KEMC to be affiliated with any other university because it was its constituent college.
Dr Basit said the UHS Ordinance did not envisage a mandatory affiliation of medical colleges with the UHS. However, only those institutions, which fulfilled the prescribed conditions, were to be granted affiliation.
While touching on the UHS’ foreign recognition, the PU counsel submitted that “although the UHS management has written letters to foreign governments, it will not be successful so early for want of research facilities.”
As regards the issuance of orders by the PU vice-chancellor to disaffiliate certain medical colleges with the PU, the counsel argued that such action was done on the orders of the Punjab governor. To a court query, he conceded that under the provisions of the Punjab University Act 1973, the VC could not issue such orders on the direction of the governor. Since the former had decided to uphold the latter’s opinion, the VC acted as desired by the governor. He alleged that the UHS did not have the resources to conduct the examination of the students, and it had approached the PU to hold this year’s medical examination after which the PU issued the date sheet both for the KEMC and FJMC students.
