KARACHI, March 6: The personal files and service record of about 1,500 gazetted and non-gazetted employees are being shifted from the provincial health department to the Dow University of Health Sciences, it was officially learnt.

According to a senior official of the health department, the process of handing over of hundreds of files of teaching and non-teaching staff of the Dow Medical College, the Sindh Medical College and the Ojha Institute of Chest Diseases would be completed shortly.

It was learnt that a number of employees applying for leave or retirement would now not require going to the health department for want of their personal files.

Though, under the DUHS act, the services of staff posted at the DMC, SMC and OICD stood transferred to the university from the date of its establishment, the staff remained lingering unnecessarily, said a source at the varsity.

The Services, General, Administration and Coordination department of the Sindh government notified a couple of days back that in pursuance of sub-section (2) of Section-4 of the DUHS Act, 2004, all persons serving in the DMC, SMC and OICD in any capacity, except those on deputation immediately before the commencement of the said act, stood transferred for service to the varsity.

In pursuance of the government notification, the health department has now asked the DUHS registrar to depute an officer of the varsity to collect the personal files of all varsity employees as their services stood transferred to the university from Dec 29, 2003, the date of promulgation of DUHS Ordinance, 2003, added the health department official.