GUJRAT: The Punjab government has constituted a high-level committee for the smooth transfer of Nawaz Sharif Medical College (NSMC), Gujrat and Sargodha Medical College (SMC), Sargodha, from the higher education department to the specialised healthcare and medical education department.

Through a notification issued on December 31, 2021, the Punjab government handed over the administrative and financial control of the two medical colleges, besides the institutions’ land and buildings, to the health department, as per the decision of the provincial cabinet’s 49th meeting held in Lahore on November 23, 2021.

The specialised healthcare and medical education department (SH&MED) has formed a grievance redressal/anomalies committee to ensure smooth transfer of both colleges to the health department.

The eight-member committee formed by the SH&MED comprises secretaries of health and higher education departments, vice chancellors of the University of Health Sciences (UHS), University of Gujrat (UoG) and University of Sargodha (UoS), principals of NSMC and SMC and additional secretary (technical) of health department. The health secretary is convener and HED secretary is co-convener of the committee.

Though the colleges had been the constituent entities of the UoG and UoS, working under the HED, they had been affiliated with the UHS, whereas their teaching hospitals had been under administrative and financial control of health department, causing a number of issues in the working of these institutions.

Since their establishment in 2010, the principals of these colleges did not have autonomy and the VCs of the respective universities were their appointing authority.

A senior faculty member of the NSMC, desiring anonymity, hopes the change is expected to improve the working of these colleges.ABSH: The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) has formally granted an accreditation to the Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Hospital (ABSH) as a teaching institute for the postgraduate training programmes.

In a notification issued by the PMC dated Jan 3 2021, Dr Syed Mohsin Ali, member education, national medical authority of PMC, informed the medical superintendent about the hospital’s successfully qualifying as a teaching institute for the postgraduate students.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2022