BAHAWALPUR: The dental college, established at the Quaid-i-Azam Medical College (QAMC), Bahawalpur, about two years ago, is still non-functional due to the apathy of the Punjab Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department, which caused an inordinate delay in recruitment of the teaching staff.

The government had approved establishment of the dental college in Bahawalpur in 2024 and sanctioned 100 seats. Instead of providing funds for construction of a separate building or taking another building on rent, the government directed the officials to make arrangements on their own to house the dental college in a building. At the end, a proposal was floated to start classes in the already congested building of the QAMC.

The officials reserved a portion for the dental department on the second floor of the building of the QAMC’s outpatient department (OPD) where college administration spent millions on alterations for making lecture rooms with provision of all sorts of facilities for the dental college.

This OPD’s dental ward that was turned into dental college has been lying vacant for two years, with the result that the students of Bahawalpur and other adjacent areas are so far deprived of admissions.

It is learnt that the QAMC authorities had sought sanctioning of about 200 teachers’ posts from the government, including that of the college principal, MS, professors and other academics, for the college. But after the passage of over a year, it sanctioned only 31 posts. These posts were approved in last September but they have not been filled so far.

The stakeholders in the area have made appeals to Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Commissioner Musarrat Jabeen to expedite the recruitment process of these teachers so that their admissions to the college could start.

However, QAMC Principal Prof Dr Sufia Farrukh told Dawn that she was in touch with the health department officials for recruitment of the teaching staff.

She expressed hope that the Punjab government would soon take some positive steps. She assured that with the posting of teaching staff, the PMDC officials be invited to visit the college to complete all legal and procedural requirements.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2026