LAHORE, July 18: A spokesperson for the Health Department said on Wednesday that only those doctors could become the principal of a medical institution who have a minimum two-year remaining service and no inquiry is pending against them for professional and administrative misconduct.

“The seniority band for established medical colleges is 1 to 72 and for newly established medical colleges 1 to 144,” the spokesman said.

The postings triggered controversy as doctors alleged seniors had been ignored in the process.

The spokesperson said the government had recently posted senior doctors as head of five medical institutions following the procedures as other doctors did not have the required credentials.

Doctors however rejected his assertions.

A source claimed that there has been no precedent for such postings in the past.

He said a Health Department’s combined seniority list of professors released on April 9, 2012, carried 34 senior doctors (from no 1 to 72) on it who had minimum two-year remaining service but their junior colleagues were posted as principals of medical institutions.

A ‘victim’ senior doctor called the criteria ridiculous, saying that the department had raised doubts on the integrity of 34 senior doctors.

Requesting anonymity, he said the Health Department’s condition of ‘inquiry status and professional and administrative proficiency’ could be applied to a few senior doctors.

Quoting the seniority list, he said a majority of eligible doctors were the ablest teaching cadre doctors with good repute in their career.

He said the department had also ignored the Boards of Management of the autonomous institutions in the posting of principals. BoMs are supposed to recommend a panel of three senior doctors for the top slot. The recent postings were made without the consent of the BoMs.