LAHORE, Oct 16: The University of Health Sciences’ (UHS) Board of Governors at its first ever meeting on Wednesday selected Punjab health minister Prof Dr Mahmood Ahmad Chaudhry as its chairman for the next three years.

Speaking at a press conference, Prof Chaudhry promised to do everything he could to improve the quality of medical education in the province.

As the UHS had not yet been able to find a vice-chancellor abroad, Prof Chaudhry said the board had nominated one of its members, Pakistan Medical and Dental College chairman Prof Hayat Zafar Khan, as the acting vice-chancellor on an honorary basis.

Prof Khan’s nomination is an interim arrangement, as the UHS will find a vice-chancellor abroad within three months. Prof Khan will also represent the university in the PMDC. He said the board would also find a controller of examinations abroad.

He said the university was also going to appoint two deans within a couple of days, one of whom would look after research and development while the other would take care of studies and exams.

Prof Chaudhry said the UHS would act as an affiliating institution as well as an examining body for all affiliated medical colleges in the province.

He said the University of Sheffield, UK, would assist the UHS in revising medical curricula on modern lines and developing a foolproof examination system. He said the UHS would also send its officials to Sheffield for studying their examination system and implementing it here to develop university’s credibility internationally.

Answering a question, he said the Punjab governor had already issued a directive to the Punjab University to shift the medical examination system to UHS.

Prof Chaudhry said the university would also start PhD classes in basic science subjects to produce indigenous scholars. At present, he said the province had a very few PhDs in basic sciences.

He said the Australian and Canadian governments would also send their scholars to teach at the university. The Australian government has also agreed to provide 20 scholarships.

Answering a question, he said the university would notify a criteria for affiliation of medical colleges in public and private sector within a day or two. He said medical colleges would be given a specified time to apply for affiliation. The medical colleges in the private sector would be required to fulfil basic requirements of infrastructure, faculty and an attached teaching hospital offering three free beds per student. He said the university would also deal with admission and migration issues in all the affiliated medical colleges.

UHS chief executive Manzur Hussain said the university had also constituted a three-member committee comprising himself and BoG members Prof Dr Zafar Iqbal and DG (finance) Ghulam Mustafa to develop a detailed plan for the faculty. He said the university would prefer to have a highly-paid staff that might lack in numbers but not in quality.

He said the university would also develop a model financial system using a double-entry book. He said the university had got itself a highly qualified resident auditor on deputation. A professional financial manager will be hired from open market.