PESHAWAR, Oct 28: Teachers of basic medical sciences in the Khyber Medical University have questioned the rules set by the Higher Education Commission for promotion.

According to the Higher Education Commission (HEC), only teachers with PhDs in relevant subjects are entitled to promotion. Basic medical sciences include biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, pathology, forensic sciences and toxicology.

Teachers of the Khyber Medical College have urged the HEC to exempt them from the PhD clause, but the HEC says that the criteria used for appointments in medical universities are the same for teachers of general universities.

In a letter written to HEC chairman Dr Attaur Rahman, president of the NWFP Basic Medical Sciences Association Dr Jamilur Rehman argued that they should be considered differently from teachers of general universities on the following grounds:

The requirement for M Phil in basic medical sciences was 17 years of school/college studies, one-year house job and two-year teaching experiences in relevant specialty. On the other hand, only 16 years of school/college study was required for admission in M Phil in other disciplines.

Furthermore, the letter said, almost every university in Pakistan had been awarding PhDs in basic sciences, such as physics, mathematics and chemistry, since their inception. On the other hand, only two institutes – Postgraduate Medical Institute of Lahore and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical College in Karachi – were awarding PhDs in basic medical sciences.

It said that more often these two institutes lacked qualified supervisors because of which aspiring candidates did not seek admissions.

Both institutes, it said, were under-funded and lacked equipment. The letter also mentioned that lack of incentives had already hit departments of basic medical education hard, because most positions were non-practicing and were unattractive for doctors. This has kept doctors away from doing their post-graduations in these subjects.

This has led to shortage of basic medical science teachers in all medical colleges and medical universities of the country, it was pointed out. Additionally, the letter invited attention of the HEC chairman that the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, the body regulating medical education in the country, had considered revising the criteria of basic medical teachers to PhD but it deferred the matter till the time that facilities for PhD were available in the post-graduate institutes.