SUKKUR: Students of Ghulam Mohammad Mahar Medical College (GMMMC), their parents and the general public took out a rally against the vice chancellor of the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) on Sunday and torched his effigy, holding him responsible for the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) ban on their medical college.

Leaders of Jeay Sindh Tehreek, who organised the protest, and others vented their anger at the SMBBMU VC Prof Asghar Channa and said that his wrong policies led to the ban on admission to GMMMC by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).

They demanded the council to lift the ban on admission to GMMMC and warned they would stage strong protests if the council and the government failed to save students’ future. Later, the enraged protesters torched an effigy of the VC.

Meanwhile, commissioner of Sukkur division has also held the vice chancellor responsible for the situation that led to the ban.

The university has called meetings of the selection board and the syndicate on Nov 8 and 9, respectively, to discuss issues pertaining to the ban.

The syndicate meeting plans to review the recruitment of faculty teachers and other suggestions while the college administration is preparing a questionnaire to determine from teachers and students whether they should remain in SMBBMU or not as a last resort to save the medical college.

Sources said that besides GMMMC, the PMDC had also derecognised the Aseefa Dental College, Larkana, because of serious shortage of faculty and inadequate infrastructure.

Sources said that the selection board scheduled to meet on Nov 8 would take decisions to complete the faculty of GMMMC and vice chancellors of different universities would attend the meeting.

The board will finalise the selection of professors, associate professors and assistant professors on Nov 11 who would then be posted in the college while the SMBBMU syndicate which will meet on Nov 9 will give the final approval to selected teachers.

The meeting will also review decision of the Larkana bench of Sindh High Court about handing over management of teaching hospitals to the university.

In a related development, the commissioner of Sukkur division has held the vice chancellor of SMBBMU responsible for the cancellation of registration of GMMMC.

The commissioner said in a letter to the college principal on Oct 22 that the chief minister believed the vice chancellor was responsible for the fiasco with regard to the college.

The VC said in his answer to the letter that the commissioner needed to understand that the VC was required to complete the faculty and purchase instruments of hospitals but for shortages inside hospitals only the Sindh government was responsible.

Former VCs argument

LARKANA: Prof Sikandar Ali Shaikh, former vice chancellor of SMBBMU, has said if the teaching faculty had not been transferred to the Khairpur Medical College, the PMDC would not have cancelled registration of GMMMC.

There was no need to open another medical college in Khairpur, when the Sindh government was unable to meet academic requirements of GMMMC, he said.

Mr Shaikh was among a number of speakers at a seminar held here on Saturday night where the speakers, mostly current and former VCs, praised the SHC decision to hand over teaching hospitals to medical universities.

SMBBMU VC Prof Ghulam Asghar Channa, Prof Jan Muhammad Memon, former VC of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences; Prof Abdul Majeed Chaudhry, principal of Lahore Medical and Dental College; Dr Siraj Abbasi, director of Larkana Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy and others also appreciated the court’s decision and said it would definitely bring in positive change in the hospitals’ affairs and efficiency.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2015

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