surreal_ravi

UHS to act as examining body for two years


By Our Reporter

LAHORE, July 8: The University of Health Sciences agreed on Tuesday to
act as an examining body only for the students of BDS, MBBS fourth and
final year for the next two years and give up its degree-awarding
status in favour of the Punjab University.

petitions filed by the students of certain medical colleges
challenging the compulsory affiliation of their respective
institutions with the UHS.

On the last hearing, the bench had proposed that keeping in view the
different administrative and academic problems likely to be faced by
it, the UHS should act as examining body only for the next two years
and let the PU issue degrees to the MBBS and BDS students in the
meanwhile.

The proposal was partially accepted as only the BDS and MBBS fourth
and final year students were allowed to get their degrees from the
Punjab University after being examined by the UHS.

After hearing both the sides the bench reserved its verdict. UHS
counsel Abdul Hafeez Pirzada submitted that the board of governors of
the varsity would strictly act in accordance with the additional
recommendations of the court made in its final judgment with regard to
the UHS Ordinance.

"I pledge while standing in the court that none of the petitioner
students would be victimized by the UHS during their examination for
having moved the LHC against the compulsory affiliation," he said in
response to an apprehension raised by the petitioners' counsel Aitzaz
Ahsan.

Earlier, while filing the written statement Mr Pirzada requested the
court that the document should not be given to press. After going
through the statement, the court informed all the parties that the UHS
had partially agreed to the proposal.

Mr Ahsan also agreed to the court's proposal regarding the role of the
UHS as an examining body. He submitted that it was an apt
interpretation of the UHS Ordinance by the court. The impugned statute
did not specify the time frame for the affiliation of medical
institutions with the UHS.

He contended that no one had objection to the affiliation of the
respective faculties of these colleges with the UHS but the students
should be allowed to earn degrees from the Punjab University in the
meanwhile.

Justice Jilani observed that a temporary arrangement has been proposed
in deference to the petitioner students. Though no time frame had been
mentioned in Section 37 of the UHS Ordinance regarding the completion
of the compulsory affiliation process, the entire law could not struck
down on this basis.

The court asked the UHS counsel to specify the date of the examination
both for the BDS and the MBBS students so that they could make
preparations after having spend a lot of time in litigation.

Mr Pirzada submitted that the MBBS examinations were already scheduled
for December 2003, which according to him was sufficient time for
preparations. The UHS needed three weeks for holding the BDS
examinations which were deferred in the last week of June on the
court's instructions.

The court inquired from Punjab Advocate-General Syed Shabbar Raza
Rizvi as to under what law had the governor exempted the King Edward
Medical College and the Fatima Jinnah Medical College from compulsory
affiliation with the UHS.

The AG replied that the governor had used his discretionary powers
under Section 5 of the UHS Ordinance and such action was not
discriminatory.

The AG also submitted that the de' Montmorency College of Dentistry
had not been exempted from compulsory affiliation since it was an
autonomous institution and had a separate dean. The students of de'
Montmorency had claimed that since the dean of the KEMC and their
college was the same, they should not be affiliated with the UHS.

Punjab University counsel Dr Basit maintained that both the KEMC and
the de' Montmorency were being managed by one dean and the AG had made
a wrong statement in this regard.

"The PU has always regarded the de' Montmorency College as an integral
dental component of its medical faculty," he submitted while
challenging the government to place any material on record to
contradict his statement.

Later, Mr Aitzaz gave rebuttal to the submissions made by the UHS
counsel.