SC bans new medical colleges

F.P. Report

LAHORE: Expressing extr-eme displeasure over deteriorating standards of medical education and inflated fee structure of private medical colleges, the Supreme Court on Wednesday restrained Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC) from accr-editing new medical and dental colleges till further orders.

Headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, a two-judge bench of the apex court, gave this restraining order while hearing a suo motu case pertaining to exorbitant fee structure of private medical and dental colleges.

CJP Nisar warned that if financial irregularities were found in the affiliation of colleges, the matter would be referred to the National Acc-ountability Bureau (NAB) for an investigation into it.

“I have heard that the money to the tune of Rs40 billion was offered by colleges for affiliation, ” he remarked.

He observed that the entire system needed to be fixed even if that required closing two or four colleges for violating the laws, or imposing heavy fines on their owners.

He said there should be such a system where children hailing from modest background could study in medical colleges.

CJP Nisar observed that private colleges were preferred because good numbers could be achieved in examinations.

Expressing concern over mushrooming of private universities, the chief justice directed the provincial government to come up with the criterion for granting permission to privately-owned universities.

Meanwhile, the bench came down hard on Faisalabad Medical University’s vice chancellor Dr Farid Zafar after a female lawyer accused him of pressuring her not to pursue the case related to exorbitant fee structure of the university.

The court directed the aut-horities concerned to immediately suspend the vice cha-ncellor. She told the judges that Punjab Governor  Rafique Rajwana’s son too used to persecute her over telephone for taking the matter to the court.

On which, the bench summoned the governor’s son to clear his position over the harassment allegations.

In today’s hearing, owners and chief executives of private medical colleges appeared before the Supreme Court Lahore registry, except the representatives of Fatima Memorial Medical College.

The chief justice observed that he came to know every medical college has its own merit, adding that he was told before that fees as much as Rs 642,000 are being charged to students, but today he has been informed that even more than 0.9 million rupees are being taken by medical colleges.

The chief justice ordered to shift the medical fee hike case to the Supreme Court.

He remarked that the Supreme Court will decide the procedure and free structure of the medical colleges all over the country, and the owners will be bound to follow the directives.

Supreme Court (SC) also summoned vice chancellors of nine universities on January 20 in a case pertaining to affiliating non-standard law colleges.

These universities include Punjab University, Peshawar University, Bahauddin Zaka-riya University, Islamia Un-iversity, Gomal University, Balochistan University, Kar-achi University, University of Sindh and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai University.

In Tuesday’s hearing, the CJP barred admission in all private medical colleges countrywide.

Chief Justice Nisar observed that medical colleges were being run on rooftops and garages, adding that the court should be told about the structure of such colleges.

He remarked that “although we are producing doctors, we don’t know whether our tool is correct or not.”