Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday issued order for restoration of 100 seats in Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Medical College, Lyari (SBBMCL) for admissions. It directed provincial government to ensure recruitment of required teaches and staff for SBBMCL within three months.
A division bench of SHC headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar issued these orders in petitions filed by some candidates seeking admission and felt them affected because of a decision of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) for reducing the seats from 100 to 50 for admissions.
The SHC bench also directed Sindh government to approve summaries related to the college within fifteen days and also ordered PMDC to register new faculty of the college.
Earlier, Additional Secretary Health Sindh told the court that four summaries regarding the college had been submitted to the Chief Minister and three of them were approved.
In the last hearing of the case, Principal of the college Prof Anum Rehman stated that the contract of college employees had been extended, but she had not received the notification so far. The principal stated that on August 15 last, a list of professors and assistant professors, selected by the selection board, was sent to the secretary of health, but the approval had not been accorded as yet.
In the last hearing, the bench had asked the chief secretary as well as the health secretary to ensure that these summaries moved to the chief minister, were approved within three days so further orders may be passed on theses petitions.
The SHC had also directed the chief engineer to visit the under-construction college and apprise the court regarding the status of the construction and the time required to complete it.
According to the report submitted by PMDC, SBBMCL was deprived of ISO certification on fundamental infrastructure. It stated that college principle didn't provide the record even a letter was sent in this regard.
Due to lack of infrastructure, PMDC decreased fifty seats for admission in the college, which was challenged by the candidates seeking admission in the college.
The college principle told the court that there is shortage of two professors and two assistant professors in the college, at which court gave the time for hiring of people against these two posts.
The court also sought the report on the development work in the college by ordering to restore the 100 seats for admission in the college. Meanwhile, SHC's bench extended the pre-arrest bail of former Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah in alleged irregularities in awarding land for construction of residential units under Malir Development Authority (MDA).
The SHC bench expressed annoyance over absence of concerned investigation officer of NAB and directed him to ensure his appearance in the next hearing to be held on March 21, 2019.