Medical colleges & PMDC criteria | Foreign PhDs at GCU

Private medical colleges violating PMDC criteria
Lahore, March 22: More private colleges are going to be opened in the province in near future despite the fact that the medical colleges already operating in the Punjab are running without fulfilling the criteria set by the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC), sources in the Health Department confided on Friday.

They said that at present about 26 private medical colleges were operating in the province out of which eight to nine were in Lahore, getting Rs 35-45 lacs from each student whereas public medical colleges were charging less than Rs one lac fee from the students per head for the whole year.

The sources claimed that the said colleges had not hired complete teaching staff as per required by the PMDC which says that "a demonstrator is required for every 25 students, an assistant professor for 50 students, an associate professor for 100 students and a professor to teach 150 to 200 students.

Most of these colleges had not recruited senior staff rather they hired the services of the teaching staff as visiting professors while one professor attended two to three private colleges the same day to taught students against heavy remunerations, the sources disclosed.

These colleges paid heavy salaries to the teachers as management of these colleges collected heavy fees from the students resulting shortage of the senior staff in public institutions, a senior officer of Health department said seeking anonymity. He said that many senior teachers had sought long leave from the public institutions and were engaged in teaching at private institutions.

As per details a demonstrator in private colleges was drawing Rs 70,000 per month salary while the same demonstrator who served in public medical college could earn only Rs 19,000 per month. Assistant professor is getting Rs 150,000 in private colleges while in public institute he gets only Rs 25,000.

The Punjab Health Department and PMDC did not take notice of the situation as the Health Department said that the matter was not related to it while the PMDC had poor monitoring system.

Sources in the Health Department said that most of the private medical colleges were not offering house job to their graduates, only few graduates who were offered house jobs were less paid like government offered Rs 18,000 to the house officer while private colleges and hospitals offered only Rs 12,000.

At present 800 house officers were working without salaries in the province, sources claimed and added that most of the heads of the public medical institutions were engaged in accommodating graduates of the private medical colleges as these institution heads saw their future in private medical institutions after retirement.

A senior doctor seeking anonymity said that to discourage the opening of more private colleges, the government should start evening shifts in the public medical colleges to accommodate maximum number of medical students. There should be complete ban on opening of new medical college or their management should be instructed to define their fee structure that should not exceed from maximum Rs 20,000 to 25,000 each year. The nation

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Foreign PhDs not quite up to GCU 'standards'
Lahore: The Computer Science Department (CSD) of the Government College University (GCU), Lahore finds itself at the centre of a new controversy, after the appointment of an assistant professor from the Physics department as the head of the CSD, over the heads of two senior foreign qualified Computer Science teachers.

Prof Saleem Khan, a PhD in Physics, was elevated to the position of department chairman, superseding two senior Computer Science teachers and PhDs, Prof Asad Raza Kazmi and Prof Moeezur Rehman.

It was learnt that Prof Khan, an Old Ravian, has been teaching at GCU since 1987 and recently completed his PhD on 'Dynamical control systems: design, modelling, simulation in distributed and local environment' from the GCU Physics faculty.

Prof Asad Raza Kazmi, on the other hand, has around three years of service at GCU. He completed his PhD on 'Intuitionistic linear-Time µ-Calculus' in 2007 from the Institute of Software at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.

Prof Moeezur Rehman, who completed his doctoral studies in 2008, has around two years of experience at the university, and is armed with a PhD on 'Hybrid model of electronic negotiation: integration of negotiation support and automated negotiation models' from the University of Hohenheim, Germany.

In addition, the two side-lined professors have published various research papers, with Prof Asad Raza Kazmi and Prof Moeezur Rehman having published four and two research papers, respectively. Ironically, the current CSD head does not have a single publication to his name.

In the presence of two such strong contenders, the appointment of 'an outsider' as head of the CSD seems to be an anomaly. However, the department is no stranger to controversy. For nearly three years, internal politics have compromised the quality of this once-promising department. In December 2007, disagreements between the faculty and the administration reached a boiling point when former CSD head Prof Malik Tariq and two other faculty members resigned, citing "interference and victimisation". Then, in March 2009, the new head of department, Prof Majid Naeem – along with 31 faculty members and employees – resigned en masse for the same reasons.

Following their departure, these individuals protested against GCU Registrar Sahibzada Faisal Khursheed and alleged that he interfered and tried to manipulate the affairs of the department. Following these incidents, Vice Chancellor Dr Khalid Aftab promised the CSD students that the administration would resolve all these issues and maintain the standard of the university.

But rather than addressing their problems, students say the university placed Prof Saleem Khan, a virtual outsider, in charge of the department's affairs almost immediately after Prof Naeem's departure.

Sources within the university said that Prof Saleem Khan was one of the VC's "favourites" and – being an Old Ravian – was preferred for appointment as CSD head. Incidentally, since his posting, the university has advertised and invited applications on several vacant positions, including key positions such as university treasurer, but the post of CSD head is still filled by an ad hoc candidate, and no permanent appointment has been made so far.

Now, the matter has come to a head, and CSD students are complaining of mismanagement. A BCS (Final Semester) student said this political wrangling had taken its toll on the standard of studies at the CSD. "You need to remember that out in the market, we are competing directly with graduates of LUMS, FAST and other leading universities. When no reputed teacher or technically-qualified instructor is willing to come and teach here, how can you expect the standard to be maintained," she said. "It's Rs 200,000 down the drain." A senior GCU faculty member echoed the student's concerns. "No qualified and reasonable people are willing to join the department due to the policies of the administration."

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LUMS to host its first ever science olympiad
Lahore: The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Society For Promotion and Development of Engineering and Sciences (SPADES) is all set to kick off its first ever science olympiad, LUMS Psi-Fi 2010. The four-day event, from March 25 to 28, will be a unique chance for students to voice their ideas, sharpen their creativity, meet new people and amplify their interpersonal skills and develop technical acumen. Daily times

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UHS results
Lahore: The University of Health Sciences (UHS) has declared the result of the Final Professional BSc Nursing (Post RN 2-Year) Annual Examination.

According to a press release here on Saturday, a total of 78 candidates from four affiliated nursing colleges appeared in the exam out of which 76 passed and two failed. The pass percentage remained 97.44.

Aasiya Khanam of Saida Waheed FMH College of Nursing, Lahore, got first position securing 454/500 marks. Nasim Akhter and Hina Arshad of the same college got second and third positions securing 442/500 and 440/500marks respectively.

Meanwhile, the UHS also declared the result of the Second Professional BSc Nursing (4-Years Programme) annual examination.

A total of 142 candidates from four affiliated nursing colleges appeared in the exam out of which 123 passed and 18 failed. Result of one candidate was put on RL list. The pass percentage remained 87.23.

Iram Fatima of the Saida Waheed FMH College of Nursing, Lahore, got first position securing 341/400 marks. Saira Manzoor of the Saida Waheed FMH College of Nursing, Lahore and Samina Farooqi of the same college got second and third positions securing 339/400 and 338/400marks respectively.

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UVAS, Cornell Varsity sign MoU
Lahore: The University of Veterinary and Animals Sciences (UVAS) and Cornell University, New York, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance the human resource development as well as extending helping hand to the capacity building programmes for teachers.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed during the visit of UVAS Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Nawaz to the United States.

Before he started his visit, the delegates from Cornell University, New York, visited UVAS and had a consultative meeting with Prof Dr Muhammad Nawaz and deans of all faculties.

The VC also visited the forensic lab of renowned Pakistani scientist Dr Ashraf Tahir who was the head of American Forensic Policy and discussed with him the possibility of establishing an animal forensic teaching and research facility at UVAS. The news

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Education and policy experts to meet at PU for 3-day forum
Lahore: Over 200 education and policy experts from across Pakistan will converge for a 3-day national forum, "Meeting the needs of the 21st century" at the Punjab University New Campus in October, to be jointly organised by the Institute of Education and Research and Promotion of Education in Pakistan (PEP) Foundation, New York City.

This was announced by City University of New York's Department of Neurochemistry Chairman Professor Dr Khalid Iqbal during his meeting with the Punjab University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Mujahid Kamran on Saturday.

It is worth mentioning that the PEP foundation has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Punjab University and donated a sum of Rs 10 million as seed money to establish the Pakistan Education Council and Sughra Begum Centre for Education Policy and Development at the Institute of Education and Research. The PEP foundation, since its inception in 1994, has granted fellowships to finance education of over 300 students towards MPhil, PhD and other degrees who have already graduated and many of them are employed in professional undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

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Sports day keeps KEMU doctors on their toes
Lahore: The King Edward Medical University's (KEMU) annual sports day concluded on Saturday amid great fanfare. The event, held at the university campus, was attended by First Lady Fauzia Gilani, the wife of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and KEMU Vice Chancellor Zafarullah Khan. Nasim Hameed, celebrated Pakistani athlete and Asian Games champion, was the guest of honour at the occasion.

Students from various disciplines and classes participated in a variety of events.

Professor Sabrina Pal won the musical chairs competition for faculty members, while Wasif Moeen Shah and Marryum Hameed were declared the best sportspersons of the year. Daily times

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AIMC Festival
Lahore: The Medical Teachers Association, Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, is organising the Pakistan Day Festival in the stadium of AIMC on March 22 and 23. The Women's Chamber of Commerce and Industries and administration of the AIMC/JHL will cooperate in hosting the festival.

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Annual fair
Lahore: A private school in Gulberg organised its annual gala the other day. A large number of students and their parents attended various events. The junior students also staged a play and received great appreciations for their spectacular performances. Punjab Minister for Prisons Ch Abdul Ghafoor was the chief guest. Speaking on the occasion, he lauded the event, saying it was a healthy activity, especially in the prevailing tense situation. The news

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