KARACHI: While the opposition’s protest against the Sindh Local Govern­ment Act (SLGA) 2021 that took away the administrative control of health and educational institutions from the Karachi Metropo­litan Corporation (KMC) continues, the provincial government is learnt to have decided to establish Karachi Metropolitan University (KMU) with Karachi Medical & Dental College as its affiliated college and the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital as teaching hospital.

Informed sources told Dawn on Tuesday that the KMC had moved a note to the local government secretary and the draft of KMU bill, which was duly vetted by the provincial law department.

They said that Metropoli­tan Commissioner Afzal Zaidi requested the local government department to move the draft bill for approval of the chief minister for placing it before the provincial cabinet and the provincial assembly.

The metropolitan commissioner in his note to the LG secretary stated that as per the recent amendments to the SLGA the two institutions were now provincialized and the city’s municipal administration subscribed to the intent of the provincial government that health and education institutions should be administratively and financially independent.

“Accordingly, KMC is of the view that Karachi Metro­poli­tan University may be established with Karachi Medical & Dental College as its affiliated college and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital may be declared as teaching hospital of the proposed university,” he said.

According to the draft bill, the new law would be called the Karachi Metro­poli­tan University Act, 2022 and it shall come into force at once after its enactment.

The proposed university will have faculties of basic medical sciences, medicine, surgery and allied sciences, dentistry, nursing and paramedical, pharmaceutical science, health management, community health, bio-medical engineering, business administration, public administration and other faculties as may be prescribed by statutes.

It said that all properties and assets, right and interest of whatever kind, used, enjoyed, possessed, owned or vested in, or held in trust by the KMDC and ASH and all liabilities legally subsisting against them immediately before the commencement of this Act shall stand transferred to the proposed university.

Under the proposed law, all persons serving in the KMDC and ASH in any capacity shall be transferred for service to the University on the terms and conditions as may be prescribed.

It said that the dean of each faculty shall be appointed by the chief minister on the recommendation of the vice chancellor form amongst the three most senior professors in the faculty for a period of three years.

The bill said that the governor would be the chancellor and the city mayor or administrator would be pro-chancellor. It said that there shall be a vice chancellor of the university who shall be an eminent academic and appointed by the chief minister for a period of four years, which may be extended for one more term only on such terms and conditions as the chief minister may determine.

The pro-vice chancellor shall be from amongst university professors to be appointed by the chief minister for the main campus or of the additional campus, if any, or for both the campuses jointly or separately.

The statement of objects and reasons of the proposed law said that it was expedient to establish a university to be known as the Karachi Metropolitan University in public sector to provide facilities of higher education in the province in the medical sciences and other academic distinction and for the purpose to provide instruction, training, research, demonstration, diploma, certificates and to award degrees to the graduate and post-graduate students.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2022