LAHORE: The PhD Programme in Basic Sciences in public sector medical universities of Punjab seems ‘almost on the verge of closure’.

The programme suffered a major dent after the universities and other institutions, mostly headed by councilors of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP), ‘neglected’ it in order to ‘promote’ the FCPS qualification in same subjects.

An official told Dawn that the sensitivity of the situation could be gauged from the fact that presently out of the total six medical universities in Punjab only two Lahore-based institutions -- King Edward Medical University and the University of Health Sciences -- were running the programme to produce PhD scholars.

Policies tilt the balance in favour of FCPS qualification

According to the world-over standard practice, the ranking of the medical universities are determined on the basis of the number of PhD scholars produced by them.

The varsities admit students for PhD in Basic Sciences after passing MPhil making them eligible for the level-III qualification after 18-year consecutive education while the CPSP enrolled the students [for FCPS] in Basic Sciences after MBBS.

“Initially, the issue surfaced when the health authorities allocated 50 per cent of the total seats to the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPSP) under the central induction policy (CIP) for postgraduate trainees in Punjab,” the official said.

As heads of the medical universities were also members of the committee constituted for the induction of the postgraduate trainees, they preferred the CPSP diploma to varsities’ own PhD programme creating a serious issue for the latter’s future.

Prof Javed Akram, the co-convener of the committee, confirmed the development saying that the acute shortage in the basic sciences faculty has already hit the Punjab’s medical institutions hard.

The present situation further had an adverse impact on the PhD degree programme, he said while talking to Dawn.

“I would strongly recommend the authorities to revisit the seat allocation formula under the CIP for the postgraduate trainees in order to promote medical universities’ [own] degree programme,” Prof Akram said.

The PhD in Basic Sciences has been purely the medical universities’ own four-year highest degree [research] programme, he said.

He added that he would take up the issue in the upcoming meetings with the health authorities.

On the other hand, the situation got worse after heads of the medical universities took some more steps to promote the CPSP qualification.

“The disturbing fact is that the CPSP Ordinance has not allowed the college to run FCPS Basic Sciences programme,” said the official.

It only allowed the students requiring hospital-based training in clinical sciences including surgery, medicine, gynae etc., instead of basic sciences.

The official referred the Section 5 of the CPSP Ordinance 1962 that clearly reads the following functions of the college; 1- to promote specialist practice of medicine, surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics and such other specialties by securing improvement of teaching and training in hospitals and hospital methods;

2 - to arrange postgraduate medical, surgical and other specialists training.

Declaring it a serious matter, the official said all the stakeholders concerned, including health authorities and heads of medical universities, are [surprisingly] silent on the issue probably to avoid controversies.

He pointed out that being a federal institution, the CPSP was established in 1962 through an act of parliament.

The two medical universities in Lahore are being headed by those senior medics who were also councilors of the CPSP at the same time.

Similarly, another leading institute - the Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI) in Lahore - is also being headed by a councilor of the CPSP.

The holding of prime positions in the CPSP and in public sector medical varsities at the same time is somehow ‘conflict of interest,’ the official said.

When contacted, health secretary Saqib Zafar refused to comment on the issue citing some reasons.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2018