PESHAWAR: The Policy Board has ordered revitalisation of boards of governors (BoGs) at medical teaching institutions after Peshawar High Court declared their removal by caretaker government illegal.

In a letter addressed to all the members and chairpersons of BoGs, Prof Nausherwan Burki, the head of MTI-Policy Board Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said that as per the court’s decision, their appointments were valid and therefore, they should quickly begin to function as such.

“The government is moving fast to add more members to the boards,” said the letter.

Restoration of boards appointed by the current elected government has paved the way for MTIs to start operations in smooth way because the boards appointed by the caretaker government had no authority. The present government had removed the BoGs appointed by caretaker government in June this year but they were restored by the court.

Health department had issued directives that the boards would not take major decisions including appointment, promotion, procurements and issuance of tenders that had adversely affected the MTIs. Those boards had no authority due to which the MTIs faced problems in purchasing medicines and promotion of staff, which was long overdue.

After the reinstatement of the boards, nominated by the present government, they would be authorised to carry out all functions from which the caretaker-era BoGs were restrained.

Officials in health department told Dawn that the government would soon issue another notification to revoke its previous order of restraining BoGs of MTIs from making major decisions and allow the present boards to perform all functions as per the Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act (MTIRA).

Under the law, the boards are authorised to appoint candidates on top positions, such as dean and medical, hospital, nursing and finance directors of teaching hospitals. The caretaker government had appointed its own people on those powerful positions.

The posts of board members and chairpersons are voluntary, as per law, but given their unbridled powers, many members had hired lawyers from their own pockets to stay on their positions.

The government, however, did not have the authority to deny court’s decisions but had stripped them of power, officials said. “Now, the MTIs will get all funds and decisions regarding procurements, promotion and tendering will resume,” they said.

Officials said that many MTIs had run out of medicines for provision to critically ill and injured patients in accident and emergency departments and operation theatres.

They said that many MTIs utilised the funds they had received from government in lieu of treatment of patients on Sehat Card Plus to provide essential and lifesaving drugs to people.

They said that BoGs of medical teaching institutions were quite powerful under the law but they looked for funds towards the government. “Therefore, now the boards would have smooth-sailing because they are the representatives of the present government and are supposed to implement the policy as per vision of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, which also pioneered the MTIRA,” they added.

More than 800 employees of the MTIs also hope that the boards would now approve their promotions to next grades, as their predecessors had no powers to promote them.

“In most of the MTIs, there are people working on acting charge basis against key positions because the previous boards lacked powers to appoint permanent ones. With the re-installation of the boards appointed by this government, those positions will be filled as per law,” said officials.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2024