LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar has awarded King Edward Medical University Vice Chancellor Prof Khalid Masud Gondal PhD degree in medical education.

Prof Gondal was among the 27 students who were enrolled in the University of Health Sciences (UHS) in medical education in 2014 under supervision of Prof Junaid Sarfraz. However, the degrees of all the 27 students were delayed at the level of the UHS as the seat of the controller examination was vacant at the varsity.

Prof Javed Akram upon joining as vice chancellor of the UHS took up the matter with the Punjab governor when one of the students moved the Lahore High Court against the inordinate delay in awarding degrees. He visited the chancellor office a couple of days back and requested him to sign the PhD degrees.

According to the regulations, the PhD degrees were signed by the Punjab governor as chancellor of the university.

The Punjab governor awarded degree to Prof Khalid Masud Gondal at a ceremony on the request of the UHS VC.

Prof Akram confirmed to Dawn that Prof Gondal had been awarded PhD degree in medical education after the due process of the external and internal reviews. Prof Gondal is now among a few academicians who hold post-graduation in Medical Education (MCPS-HPE) and PhD in medical education from the UHS.

He said the Higher Education Commission had already nominated Prof Gondal focal person of research in the subject of surgery and he had been the judge for the National Research Award of the HEC.

Prof Akram regretted the delay in this regard and pledged that in future all PhD degrees would be processed within three years of enrolment. He said the other students would be conferred degrees at a convocation after end of the coronavirus pandemic.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2020