ISLAMABAD: Another scandal rocked Islamabad’s biggest public sector hospital – Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) – on Monday, with an assistant professor claiming that at least 115 seats for the Fellow of College of Physicians and Surgeons (FCPS) and the Doctor of Medicine (MD) were being sold by staffers at the Dean’s office.

Assistant Professor Dr Sultan Muhammad on Monday submitted a written application to the office of Executive Director (ED) Rana Imran Sikander, prompting Mr Sikander to establish a three-member inquiry committee.

It is the fourth scandal of similar nature during the past year. Last month, the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) took notice of corruption during admissions at the College of Nursing and suspended all admissions.

In his application, Dr Sultan claimed that there was strong evidence that the Dean’s office was demanding an amount of Rs1 million to Rs2 million from most of the candidates for FCPS and MD/MS (Master of Surgery) training at Pims.

Assistant Prof Sultan accuses Dean of selling FCPS, MD seats for up to Rs2 million; inquiry ordered

“There is no transparent process of assessment; heads of the department have limited authority too. Recently such corruption and unfair means were proved and publicised in media in the selection of students in the college of nursing and in the allocation of internship slots to psychology students in the same institute,” it stated.

“What amazes [me] the most is not the shameless courage of the officeholders to demand such a huge amount but the shocking silence of heads of departments (HODs) and their compromised state of not being able to select their residents independently.

“Sir, the grace of a prestigious institution solely depends upon the criterion of induction of trainees, but in an institute like this where the leaders, in the twilight of their career, encourage corruption and the trainees start their career with corruption, what remains in between? The consequence is that those graduates who had all professional years of MBBS passed with gold medals were deprived of the training here last year,” he alleged.

“Sir, before this comes in the media and candidates move the court, this process must be immediately stopped. A defined assessment process (test + interview) should be decided in agreement with the heads of departments with complete authority lying with HODs instead of an ambiguous method of grading... As the administrative head of the institute, your role is very significant as in case this matter is overlooked, this shall give a wrong impression of yourself being an accomplice in it. And most importantly if not stopped this time, the dean’s position shall become the throne of corruption that everyone shall fight for next time,” the application concluded.

‘Seats sale’

Dr Sultan confirmed to Dawn that he filed an application and forwarded copies to the health ministry and College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) on Monday. An HOD, requesting not to be named, said that the process of ‘selling’ the FCPS and MD seats was started last year and then the College of Nursing and School of Nursing of Pims faced similar allegations.

“This time we have been directed to give marks of interviews with a lead pencil, which shows that there is a possibility that marks could be changed. In the past, universities used to recruit for the seats of FCPS and MD, but after the Federal Medical and Teaching Institution (FMTI) the hospital started filling seats and that practice is still in vogue despite the fact that FMTI has been abolished,” he said.

Pims spokesperson Dr Mubashir Daha said that the hospital management had established an inquiry committee headed by Dr Mazhar Badshah to probe the matter.

The other members of the committee are Dr Altaf Hussain and Dr Arif Khan.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2024