ISLAMABAD, Oct 25: The federal government has initiated a probe over the registration of 19 medical colleges, in one day, by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC), Dawn has learnt.
These 19 medical colleges, according to documents seen by Dawn were given No Objection Certificate (NOC) in December, last year by the PM&DC.
The medical colleges which were registered by the PM&DC hail from Punjab, Balochistan, Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK), Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK).
A source close to the developments insisted that the shady registration process had created a lot of concern among legislators who had even raised the issue with the office of the Prime Minister, including the Ministry of Regulations and Services, which has administrative control over PM&DC.
“It was quite a concern for us that such a large number of medical colleges were given an NOC by the PM&DC on a single day. We want to probe the matter as per available laws,” the Federal Minister for Regulations and Services Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan told Dawn, when asked to comment on the matter.
It is pertinent to mention that PM&DC has laid down a complete process for registration of medical and dental colleges.
According to a prerequisite, a medical or dental college cannot be registered unless it is separated from the main hospital building.
Also an application form provided by the PM&DC needs to be filled.
Dr Awan informed: “We have learnt that few of the medical colleges were given registration without following the standard guidelines, since some of these medical colleges comprised of only two rooms and the federal government finds this fact alarming.”
The minister informed that when the federal secretary regulations and services approached the PM&DC on her direction to enquire over the registration process, the Council blatantly refused to cooperate.
She informed: “We have to seek input from the Ministry of Law and Justice, which maintains that the ministry can initiate an inquiry under rule 35 of PM&DC ordinance 1962.”
Meanwhile, secretary of regulations and services, Imtiaz Inayat Elahi explained that PM&DC Ordinance 1962 had given powers to the federal government to initiate a probe under a High Court Judge, against any matter relating to PM&DC.
The rule 35 of PM&DC ordinance states: “Whenever it is made to appear to [federal government] that the Council is not complying with any of the provisions of the ordinance, the [federal government] may refer the particulars of the complaint to a Commission of Inquiry consisting of three persons, two of whom shall be appointed by the [federal government], one being a Judge of High Court and one by the Council; and such Commission shall proceed to inquire in a summary manner and to report to [federal government] as to the truth of the matters charged in the complaint, and in case of any charge of default of improper action being found by the Commission to have established, the Commission shall recommend the remedy.”
Secretary Elahi said that his ministry is waiting for a final nod from Law and Justice Division and then the commission would be established to probe the registration process of these medical colleges.
Mr Elahi added that his ministry doesn’t want to put the stake of hundreds of students in jeopardy by cancelling the registration of these medical colleges without conducting a proper probe into the registration of medical colleges.
The minister meanwhile, assured that the probe would be conducted on merit and a decision in this regard would be made public.