GUJRAT: The syndicate of the University of Gujrat (UoG) has approved the attachment of its constituent Nawaz Sharif Medical College (NSMC) with the King Edward Medical University (KEMU).

The matter of attachment was left to the UoG syndicate after representatives of all the stake holders -- the medical college administration, health, law and higher education departments, UoG management and district administration --- held a meeting around two weeks ago to decide the NSMC attachment either with the KEMU or UHS. The UoG syndicate met on Tuesday after a lapse of more than a year with newly-appointed VC Professor Dr Shabbar Atiq in chair.

One of the syndicate members told Dawn that the participants discussed the issue of college’s proposed attachment with a medical university as well government’s desire to grant the NSMC an autonomous status.

He said that the syndicate after input from the members decided in favour of the KEMU rather than the UHS. He said it was a major step towards ensuring autonomous status of the institution.

According to him the syndicate had decided that the currently all the enrolled students of the NSMC would be given the degree by the UoG but, after the formal attachment procedure, these students could too avail the option of getting KEMU degree. The students who would be enrolled next year would surely be getting the KEMU degree.

Though the NSMC had been a constituent college of the UoG, its exams were being conducted by the UHS and all the financial resources were being provided by the provincial government’s health department.

Moreover, the college does not have its own separate teaching hospital as the provincial government had, in 2014, declared the Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Hospital as its teaching hospital under a makeshift arrangement but the college principal did not have any say in its affairs. Its medical superintendent was appointed by the health secretary.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2019