Violating the rules: CPSP sends notice to KEMU

University could lose College of Physicians and Surgeons accreditation, registrar warns.

LAHORE:

The College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) has sent a notice to the King Edward Medical University (KEMU) for not following CPSP rules.

The letter, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, is addressed to the KEMU vice chancellor. It states that the CPSP has received complaints against KEMU’s practices on induction, training and allocation of paid slots to CPSP trainees. The letter reproduces an undertaking singed by the KEMU to abide by the rules and regulations of CPSP accreditation.

Under the rules, it is mandatory for the KEMU to inform the CPSP immediately if the supervisor of the Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (FCPS) programme is transferred or changed. The rules also prohibit the KEMU from charging any fee from post-graduate trainees. The KEMU must pay a stipend to the trainees (no less than the BPS-17 basic pay). The KEMU cannot start any other training programmes without informing the CPSP in advance. The KEMU also has to apprise the CPSP regarding any changes in its faculty, equipment and facilities.

A CPSP official said many post-graduate trainees had complained that they were not getting the stipend. He said the KEMU had also not informed them about the transfer of a supervisor and thus violated the rules.



Talking to The Express Tribune, CPSP Registrar Professor Ghulam Asghar Channa said that the institution could withdraw its accreditation of the university. “The CPSP has strict criteria for accreditation. We expect all affiliated institutions to follow all the rules and regulations. If an institution doesn’t comply, the CPSP can reverse its affiliation. In the past, it has done that.”

He said: “The KEMU has been given a notice about the violation of rules. This matter will be taken up in the next council meeting. It is mandatory for all institutions to undergo re-inspection every five years.”

An FCPS trainee who has shifted from Mayo Hospital to PIMS in Islamabad said: “We were facing several problems at the KEMU. Professor Riaz Warraich has moved to PIMS and his trainees are suffering in his absence. The KEMU administration should have informed the CPSP about this, but it didn’t. Several trainees eventually moved to the PIMS to complete their training under Professor Warraich.”

KEMU Vice Chancellor Professor Asad Aslam Khan said it wasn’t possible for the university to inform the CPSP about the transfer of every supervisor. He said the professors moved to other institutions upon promotion and the university could not send the record of every person to the CPSP.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2013.