PESHAWAR: Health department has allowed the boards of governors (BoGs) of medical teaching institutions in the province to take major decisions.

The ban was placed by government on March 8 this year to stop BoGs of 10 medical teaching institutions in the province from taking major decisions. Following assumption of power by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in early March, a notification was issued to prevent BoGs from making recruitments, promotions, termination and issuance of new tenders for procurements as these boards had been appointed by the caretaker government and PTI wanted to strip them of their powers.

The government had also entrusted search and nomination council to appoint new BoGs at medical teaching institutions (MTIs) and relive the old ones of their duties. On June 12, health department on the recommendation of search and nomination council removed BoGs of MTIs and appointed new ones.

Another notification was issued by Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur to appoint chairmen of the eight boards of MTIs, thereby completing the process of putting in place new governing bodies.

Govt completes process of appointing new members of BoGs

On Thursday, the department issued another order entitled ‘lifting of ban on major decisions by the MTI BoGs’. It said that health minister was pleased to lift ban on major decisions by BoGs of MTIs with immediate effect. The decision, it said, was taken after thorough review and consideration of the current administrative and operational requirements of medical teaching institutions.

According to the notification, the boards are now fully authorised to resume their functions and take decisions on all major matters as per Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act (MTIRA) and rules.

Sources said that the caretaker government had replaced the PTI-era BoGs at medical teaching institutions but after elections it was expected that they would be removed soon and the previous ones would be restored. However, the government failed to replace the boards immediately and allowed them to continue their activities as usual.

However, the BoGs of MTIs appointed by caretaker government before elections continued to take major decisions in their respective teaching hospitals, prompting the current government to end their role and ordered them to stop making big decisions. Some boards of teaching hospitals continued to flout the directives of health department and made important decisions due to which the government again issued the same directives after a fortnight.

However, after completion of new boards of teaching hospitals, the health department issued new directives to restore all their powers. Sources said that now the boards were all set to resume their work as the architect of MTIRA Prof Nausherwan Burki was again in the driving seat.

“The new boards will review all the steps taken by their predecessors at MTIs and will reverse those taken illegally. The decisions regarding recruitments, promotions, terminations and procurements will be reviewed,” they said.

Sources said that the new BoGs would help MTIs to get approval of their planned expenditures for new purchases. They added that the government was likely to release budget to teaching hospitals for the new financial year.

They said that permanent boards were needed to take major decisions at MTIs because there was some significant process that required go-ahead from the boards. Except a few, most of the boards had taken some decisions due to which the employees had gone to courts and the new BoGs were likely to listen to the aggrieved employees and decide their cases accordingly.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2024