LAHORE: The Punjab government is looking to appoint a principal to the Services Institute of Medical Sciences/Services Hospital with a specific, unprecedented condition that reeks of favouritism.

It has set an age limit of 58 years for candidates interested in the post, a practice not reported in the past. The new criterion has thrown out of the race nearly 40 most senior faculty members of the province who had been notified by the specialised healthcare and medical education department.

This move has shocked the medical fraternity that believed that the Punjab government might have been kept in dark by the health authorities before advertising the post.

Though, some of the most senior professors might not have even been interested in the post as they were already heading state-run medical institutions, but most of them were preparing their documents to compete for the slot.

Maximum age limit of 58 years bars 40 senior faculty members from competing

An official privy to the development told Dawn that many senior medics interested in the slot had vast experience of running the affairs of various government medical institutions. Interestingly, four of these senior doctors were from the Services Hospital itself and well aware of its politics, administrative and financial affairs for many years.

“The selection for the advertised post will be made through open competitive process from amongst the regular professors of SH&ME Department, having age of 58 years or below on the closing date of submission of application,” reads the advertisement.

Earlier, the health department had advertised the posts of principals of various teaching institutions with no such age bars. In January 2019, the Punjab government had advertised the posts of principals of Shaikh Zayed Medical College, Rahim Yar Khan and Government Khawaja Muhammad Safdar Medical College, Sialkot.

According to the criteria mentioned in the advertisement at that time, all the professors from public and private sectors were eligible to apply. “A senior doctor possessing Level-III qualification with at least five years of experience as a professor is eligible to apply as par PM&DC Regulations 2017,” the advertisement published in the national media had read.

The department had also mentioned that preference will be given on the basis of seniority-cum-fitness, while this important condition was missing in the newly advertised post.

Similarly, the posts of principals and deans of Postgraduate Medical Institute/Ameeruddin Medical College, Lahore; DG Khan Medical College; Gujranwala Medical College; Institute of Public Health, Lahore and the Institute of Child Health, Faisalabad were advertised in September 2019 with no age condition of 58 years or less.

Copies of both the advertisements were available with Dawn.

The official said that the health department seemed to be in a hurry to fill the post at Services Hospital to accommodate a “favourite candidate” from within the institute.

The intention behind this unfounded act was that the specific doctor would be able to cover some financial irregularities that recently surfaced in the institution. He was a close friend of the former principal and both were facing serious allegations of misuse of funds, he added.

The official source said that as the health authorities were under immense criticism due to the financial scandals, they had formulated the age limit because the preferred candidate fulfilled the criterion and the most senior medics could be bypassed this way.

Further pointing out the mala fide intention of the department, he said, the closing date for submission of the application was Oct 24 (Saturday), the day when the health secretariat was officially closed.

Moreover, he said, the health secretariat was contacting the candidates to appear for an interview on Monday. He called it an unusual practice never witnessed in the past.

When contacted, Health Secretary Nabeel Awan refused to comment on the issue. Dawn also sent him a list of questions on Whatsapp, but he did not respond.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2020