Private Medical Institutes Cherish independent status
Lahore: As the faculty and students of the Fatima Jinnah Medical College are jubilant at the Lahore High Court's decision to revoke their institution's affiliation with the University of Health Sciences, the private medical institutions are also feeling encouraged to "maintain their independent status".
The Punjab government a few months ago had notified affiliation of the FJMC with the UHS. The decision was taken in view of the fact that it is the only public-sector medical institution in Punjab which was not affiliated with the UHS, thus, providing a 'genuine' reason to the private institutions to resist affiliation with the varsity.
"The court's decision will encourage the private medical institutions to resist affiliation with the UHS in Punjab in future and even those already affiliated with it will seek de-affiliation," said a source in the provincial health department. He further said the government was contemplating to challenge the LHC decision in the Supreme Court.
Interestingly, the University College of Medicine and Dentistry (UCMD) which got affiliated with the UHS on the orders of the Punjab governor in March 2008 is still not allowing its students to appear in the UHS examinations.
The UCMD was established in early 2000 and had been functioning without getting affiliated with any public-sector university of the country till 2008. Under the UHS Ordinance section 37, "all the medical institutions operating within the geographical boundaries of Punjab shall be affiliated with the UHS." Thus the college's status was 'illegal'.
Before its affiliation with the UHS, the UCMD was the constituent college of the University of Lahore, a private-sector charter varsity, which was also conducting its examinations.
"The UCMD is conducting its exams in violation of the rules and thus the degrees it is issuing will not be recognised in Pakistan and abroad," an official of the UHS said. He said the World Health Organization had also declared that it would not recognise the degrees of the UMDC.
Like the FJMC, the UCMD did not want its affiliation with the UHS because it is said to have "strict examination system". Dawn
