LARKANA, Jan 3: Shortage of teaching staff in the Chandka Medical College (CMC) is affecting the training of the undergraduate and postgraduate students.

This was stated in the inspection report issued by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), which conducted the inspection on April 22, 2002.

The principal of the CMC, Prof Sher Mohammed Shaikh, who retires on Jan 12, said that 28 posts, including that of eight professors, 14 associate professors, and six senior registrars, were lying vacant in the college.

The criteria set by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) for a medical college required each of the college to fill posts of 20 professors, 27 associate professors, 45 assistant professors and 21 senior registrars.

Against the sanctioned strength of the teaching staff (113 posts), only 85 were working in the college.

The inspection report, sent to the principal of the medical college on Sept 5, 2002, pointed out gross deficiencies regarding the strength of the teaching staff.

According to the inspection report, there was a deficiency of one professor, three associate professors, six assistant professors and six demonstrators/lecturers alone in the department of anatomy.

The report said that no dead body was available in the dissection hall of the college, which the PMDC termed a very serious situation.

There was no professor or associate professor in the department of physiology and the department was being run by an assistant professor (who is a non-medical graduate).

The report criticizes the lack of scope for postgraduate studies in physiology under the present faculty, besides criticizing the medical college for deficiency of teaching staff in the department of biochemistry.

According to the PMDC report, this department fell short of the PMDC criteria by one professor, one associate professor, four assistant professors and two demonstrators.

There was no professor or associate professor in the department of community medicine, which was currently being run by an assistant professor assisted by four demonstrators.

A similar situation existed in the college’s department of forensic medicine, the report said.

The PMDC team expressed satisfaction over the strength of teaching staff in the department of surgery.

But, according to the report, the college was deficient in teaching staff in the departments of medicines, paediatrics and allied specialities (TB and chest diseases, dermatology, cardiology and nephrology).

The strength of teaching staff in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology was not enough to supervise different types of training programmes, the inspection report said.

The report suggested to discontinue the DGO training programme, which had been initiated in the college recently.

The PMDC asked the college management to rectify the deficiencies pointed out in the inspection report and apprise the Council.

Knowledgeable sources told this correspondent, on the condition of anonymity, that certain professors appointed in the CMC, rarely visit the college, affecting the studies in various disciplines.

The report said that unless the medical unit and allied specialties were fully staffed, it was not justifiable to recommend the college and affiliated hospitals for training of the postgraduate trainees in medicine.