SUKKUR: The Ghulam Mohammed Mahar Medical College (GMMMC) principal has urged the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to review its decision of suspending its recognition to the institution in order to bring an end to the unrest prevailing among the students of the third batch.

The principal, Prof Dr Ghulam Hyder Rind, responding to Dawn’s queries about future of the third batch and the college, said that the PMDC had accorded its recognition to the institution in 2013-14 and since then two batches had already passed out. He said the future of the third batch was at stake now when the recognition had been suspended until the GMMMC could meet the standards of teaching and other facilities supposed to be made available to its students this year. Prof Rind said his college was very much in a position to satisfy the PMDC but it was only a matter of time, adding that if the council allowed us some more time, the college administration would sure fulfil all the remaining requirements.

Sharing with this reporter the cause of the college’s failure to meet the PMDC requirements within the stipulated time, the principal said that actually the provincial government was yet to release an amount of Rs500 million pledged by it to make the prescribed facilities available at the college. “If the funds are released today, we will be able to meet the remaining PMDC requirements within the next two months,” said Prof Rind.

To substantiate his claim, he said that the GMMMC was initially established on the premises of a school to start classes of the first batch but within a short span of time it made impressive progress to the extent that the PMDC accorded its recognition to the institution. The pace of progress was hampered just due to the delay in the release of allocated funds, he said.

The principal said that the college administration had remained in constant touch with the PMDC over the past few months but the council had now stopped responding to its letters which was beyond his comprehension.

“Realising the unrest prevailing among students and faculty due to the uncertain situation, “we have been consulting legal experts to seek their opinion about continuing with the admission and teaching process at the college”, he said.

At present, the principal said, there seemed no immediate impediment that could disrupt the process but the college was supposed to satisfy the PMDC as soon as possible.

In reply to a question about the efforts towards ensuring release of the required funds, Prof Rind said that he and the college administration had repeatedly approached the sitting and former chief ministers, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah and the officials at the helm of the affairs for the purpose. He said he was optimistic about a positive outcome of these efforts.

Moreover, he added, Health Minister Sikandar Mendhro and the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University vice chancellor were also making their all out efforts in this regard.

He said the funds were required to complete construction of the buildings for the college, hospital, hostel and residential units for the faculty, doctors, paramedics and employees.

Published in Dawn November 1st, 2016