New medical colleges recognition objected

PMDC objects to 25 new medical colleges
Lahore, July 28: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has rejected recommendations of the Federal Health Ministry to recognise 25 newly-established private and public medical colleges across the country on the pretext that the recognition of such a high number of medical colleges is against the council's policies.

Among these medical colleges also includes Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical College, Karachi, facing PMDC's objections.

"The PMDC is concerned about the new colleges whose documents have been sent by the Health Ministry to the council for recognition under the PMDC Ordinance, 1962," PMDC Registrar Dr Ahmad Nadeem Akbar said.

"The council wants to limit the establishment of colleges and that is why a two-year moratorium has been enforced from December 31, 2010 on new colleges." p

Sources say applications were sent by provincial and Azad Jammu and Kashmir governments to the Health Ministry to be forwarded to PMDC authorities for recognition. "After examining the applications, the PMDC rejected recommendations on the grounds that the recognition of such a large number of colleges was not the policy of the council," Dr Akbar said.

He said the PMDC management, in a letter issued on July 20, 2010, to the Health Ministry, had expressed its concern over its recommendations to recognise 25 private medical colleges in one go.

These new medical colleges include Mohammad Bin Qasim Medical and Dental College, Karachi; Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical College, Karachi; Pakistan Medical College, Karachi; Rajputana Medical College, Hyderabad; Jehangeer Medical College, Tando Allah Yar; Dental Section, Bahria University Medical and Dental College, Karachi; Bhitai Dental and Medical College Hospital, Mirpurkhas; Dental Section, Women's Medical College, Peshawar; Islam Medical College, Narowal; Rashid Latif Medical College, Lahore; Pakistan Red Crescent Medical and Dental College, Lahore; Core Medical College, Islamabad; Federal Medical and Dental College, Islamabad; Amna Inayat Medical College, Sheikhupura; Rehman Medical College, Peshawar; Al Razi Medical College, Peshawar; Medical College, Loralai; Medical College, Khuzdar; AJ&K Medical College, Muzaffarabad; City Medical College, Lahore; Gul Naseem Medical, Hyderabad; East and West Medical College, Haripur; and Dental Section, Islamabad Medical & Dental College, Islamabad.

Of these, eight colleges were recommended by the Sindh government, six by the Punjab, five by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two Balochistan, one by Azad Jammu and Kashmir and three by the federal capital, Islamabad.

The registrar said several new medical colleges had sprung up across the country. These medical colleges have not been inspected by the PMDC for recognition, as most of them do not fulfill the basic criteria. Dawn

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Students need PMDC nod to study in China, CARs
Islamabad: Any Pakistani student desiring to pursue postgraduate medical or dental education from an institution in China or the Central Asian Republics (CARs) will now have to approach the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) for the issuance of a no-objection certificate in this regard.

PMDC Registrar Dr Ahmad Nadeem Akbar said intending students would have to provide detailed documentary information regarding the qualification and the course, as well as the institution he or she intended to join abroad.

He said that as per rules, a student was eligible to pursue medical or dental education if he or she had obtained at least 60 percent marks in the Intermediate (pre-medical) examinations.

Dr Nadeem said the NOC would only be given to students who studied at medical institutions included in the World Health Organisation (WHO) directory of medical schools.

The PMDC official said if an intending student fulfilled the council's criteria and if the course and the standard of institutions aboard were acceptable to the PMDC, the candidate would be issued an NOC for applying for admission abroad in that particular institution.

Earlier in the day, the government of Kyrgyzstan formally asked all Pakistani students who were studying in various institutions of the country to return to their institutions and resume their studies. During the Kyrgyz crisis last month, 247 Pakistani students returned to Pakistan to escape ethnic clashes.

According to official sources, the government of Kyrgyzstan has decided to reschedule the examinations of the students to September 10-15.

Kyrgyz Ambassador Nuran S Niyazaliev presented a memorandum letter in this regard to the PMDC registrar, claiming that the situation in the Kyrgyz Republic was now stable. The letter said the government of Pakistan had been informed about the situation and Kyrgyzstan had adopted a new democratic constitution and elected Roza Otunbayeva as its president on June 27, so the law and order situation was satisfactory.

PMDC Registrar Dr Nadeem confirmed receiving the memorandum letter from the ambassador of Kyrgyzstan, who himself visited the council to invite Pakistani students to return to the republic to continue studies.

Nadeem said the letter would be submitted to the PMDC executive committee, which would make a decision on the matter by July 31. Committee members include PMDC President Dr Syed Sibtul Hasnain, Vice President Dr Asim Hussain, Dr Masood Hameed Khan, Dr Rafique A Memon, Dr Laiq Hussain, Dr Inayatur Rehman Khalil, Dr Manzoor Hussain, Dr Rashid Jooma and Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan.

The formal announcement has lifted the shroud of uncertainty over the fate of the students enrolled in Kyrgyzstan, who had expressed their reservations over an entry test being planned for them to get admission in the country's medical colleges. Each year, 3,350 students get admission in various government medical colleges across the country, while 525 are admitted to government dental colleges.

It is expected that due to limited seats in government medical colleges, the concerned authorities are likely to request the parents of the returning students to send them back abroad, so that maximum opportunity is provided to students appearing for this year's entry tests. Daily times

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Law students protest against aggregate system
Lahore: Students of various law colleges staged a protest demonstration from the Punjab University Examination Centre to Bhaikewal Mor on Tuesday against the aggregate system and restoration of the carry-on system.

The protesters, carrying placards, also staged a sit in at Bhaikewal Mor.

PU Law College student Haq Nawaz said the aggregate system was affecting their future. He said the law students would be compelled to spread their protest campaign across the province if their demands were not met. He said they would again protest if their demands were not met by Aug 15.

PU Law College's assistant professor Samee Uzair assured the protesters that the college would take up the matter to allow the students who would fail in more than two subjects in the annual examination to appear in all subjects in the supplementary exams.

Mr Uzair said that the university itself could not change the aggregate system that required aggregate 45 per cent marks to qualify the law examination because it was the requirement of the Pakistan Bar Council.

Roll No Slips: The Punjab University has sent roll number slips of candidates of MSc Physics, Part-I, annual examination for 2010, Paper-III (Quantum Mechanics), to their respective colleges.

The paper will be re-conducted on Aug 2 from 9am to 12 noon. Any candidate, who does not want to take the paper again, his/her paper attempted on June 30 shall be considered as final.

Moreover, if any candidate does not find the roll number slip in time, he/she should contact the PU examinations department.

The examination centres of some candidates have also been changed and necessary entries made on their respective roll number slips. Candidates can check details of their roll numbers and centres at PU's website www.pu.edu.pk.

Results: The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Lahore, has announced that the matriculation results will be declared on Aug 4 and FA/FSc on Sept 4.

The class-IX and FA/FSc Part-I results will be declared on Aug 25 and Oct 4, respectively.

It is learnt that the Punjab University is planning to declare BA/BSc results somewhere around Aug 15 to 18. Dawn

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Fake degree maker held
Lahore: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Iqbal Town Division has arrested a fake degree maker from Sagyan Bridge on Tuesday. Dozens of fake degrees, (printing) screens and stamps were also recovered from his possession.

The accused was later identified as Raiz Ahmad, son of Mohammad Saddiqe Araen, a resident of Sharaqpur village adjacent to Factory Area. CIA investigator Abdul Shakoor said that the criminal Raiz Ahmad, ex-employee of Lahore Board of Intermediate, was fired from his job about five years back due to various reasons. During this span of time, he said, the accused was involved in numerous fake degree cases. He said that after having number of such evidences, the CIA carried out a successful raid and apprehended the accused when he was coming to Lahore on his car Suzuki Cultus (LED-8688) to deliver the degrees to his different 'customers'. The police have registered an FIR against the accused. Further investigations are underway. The nation

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Tevta trains 2,164 teachers
Lahore: Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority (Tevta) has trained 2,164 male and female teachers during financial year 2009-10 through various teachers training programmes. Addressing a certificate distribution ceremony for teachers of DAE Mechanical and Architecture technologies, Chairman Tevta Saeed Ahmad Alvi added Tevta's aim to organise such training programmes was to enhance professional expertise of teachers. The moot was held at Government College of Technology Railway Road on Tuesday.

Continuing, he said that latest training techniques would upgrade their teaching skills and it would be reflected in the skills of the trainees. The chairman said the training of teachers of GCT Railway Road was a part of five years Tevta-JICA project. He said a Rs 580 million grant in aid by JICA would be utilised for procurement of equipment/machinery, construction of building and setting up of CAD/CAM room of teacher training. The news

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CPSP launches trauma course
Lahore: College of Physicians Surgeons, Pakistan (CPSP) President Prof Zafarullah Chaudhry says a trauma course of international level has been started in collaboration with the American College of Surgeons. Pakistan stands first to attain this landmark among South Asian countries.

At a press conference at CPSP regional office on Tuesday, Prof Zafarullah said a considerable reduction was recorded in casualties and disabilities due to the introduction of the course in America and other developed countries. He said trauma training had been declared mandatory before employment in the developed countries.

Prof Christopher, Prof John Cartback, William Chapplo, Prof Muhammad Jamil and Subhash Gotham of American College of Surgeons imparted training to 15 experts at the CPSP headquarters in Karachi and now these experts are providing training to local doctors. He said another advance trauma level programme had been started by Prof Mahmood Ayyaz.

He said the King Fahad Medical City Hospital, Saudi Arabia, and the CPSP had made an agreement, according to which 30 Pakistani doctors would get training in accordance with the CPSP syllabus every year.

The CPSP provides training to more than 13,000 post-graduate doctors in 139 institutions in the country. The CPSP president said the college had established its three new centres in the country and new centres were being established in Kuwait and the UAE too. Dawn

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