SAHIWAL: Hundreds of students of the Sahiwal Medical College (SMC) on Thursday protested in front of the Commissioner Office over non-recognition of their institute by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).

The protesters blocked Farid Town Road for five hours and chanted slogans against the provincial government, the PMDC and the health secretary for not solving the issue.

Student representatives after finishing negotiations with Commissioner Azmat Mahmood said the protest would continue and there would be complete classes boycott on Friday (today).

The commissioner assured the protesters that he would take up their concerns with the chief secretary and health secretary.

The SMC was launched in 2010 with seed money of Rs4 billion. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif laid its foundation on Nov 27, 2010. The college lacked its own building and started its campus on the DHQ hospital premises but after four years it was shifted to its own new 392-kanal building near the Central prison.

Each year 100 students are inducted in the college through an entrance test.

It is learnt that the University of Health Sciences and the PMDC had given college administration three years to complete requirements needed for recognition. “But the college management has failed to fulfill requirements,” a professor told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2016