Political rifts besides some bureaucratic hurdles have put the future of hundreds of students at stake, as the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Medical College, commonly known as Layari Medical College, is yet to start its first academic session of MBBS programme, it was learnt on Wednesday.
Students who got admissions in the college are mentally disturbed, as the academic session is being delayed continuously. Coming from the lower and lower-middle class families, they fear that any further disruption in the start of the first academic session of the college may cost them their precious year.
The college was established as a token of appreciation from President Asif Ali Zardari for the Layrities in recognition of their sacrifices for the restoration of democracy in the country. More than 1,000 students had applied for admission to the MBBS programme of the college, of them 100 candidates were selected through National Testing Service (NTS) system.
Seats of the college have been distributed on district-wise basis. Lyari Town has been allocated a quota of 15 seats, Bin Qasim Town 10 seats and Keemari Town 10 seats. Besides, 12 seats have been allocated for interior Sindh and 10 seats for admission on self-finance basis. The selected candidates have been waiting for the start of their classes for last two months.
Sources said that the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, Islamabad, had not issued No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the college due to which the college management could not start the academic session. They said that the college had hired the required faculty and had met 60 percent requirements of the PMDC. Five professors, 5 associate professors, 18 assistant professors and 21 demonstrators have been appointed.
The examinations of the first batch of the college will be taken by Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), said Uzair Baloch, spokesman of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Medical College. Baloch regretted that despite completing all required formalities, the PMDC was playing delaying tactics in issuance of the NOC. He said that the project would be expended to six acres of land in order to upgrade the existing facilities and services.
The college has been completed in a short span of time, as the infrastructure required for a medical college was available on premises of Lyari General Hospital. The government had decided to start academic activities for the time being at the hospital building and later shift the college to new location.
Rs 50 million had been spent on the rehabilitation of the Lyari General Hospital building to ensure proper education, training and health facilities. Arrangements were swiftly made to accommodate the first batch of the students in the Ayaz Sammo Nursing School, which was established in the hospital vicinity in 1989.
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