Abbotabad varsity hopes to secure PMDC approval in 2017

Ayub College seeks funds from K-P govt to complete building, purchase equipment

ABBOTTABAD: The Ayub College of Dentistry hopes to double seats for students after June 2017, when it expects to fulfill requirements of PMDC, college sources told The Express Tribune on Saturday.

The college started with 25 seats in 1996-97. This was doubled to 51 in 2010 under the Awami National Party and the Pakistan Peoples Party governments in the province and in the centre respectively. However, this increase was without securing the requisite approval from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).



A subsequent visit by a PMDC team to the college in 2011 also declined to approve the additional 26 seats, college sources added. The PMDC stated that the college lacked the requisite facilities both, in terms of infrastructure and faculty, to approve the increase.

However, the college administration continued enrolling extra students despite directions to the contrary from the council

When time came to register the batch of 26 students as dental practitioners after completing their house jobs in 2014 and 15, the college administration again contacted the PMDC. The council initially penalised the college at the rate of Rs5,000 for every extra student.

However, to settle the matter, the PMDC in a meeting a few months ago decided to impose a penalty on the college at a rate of Rs45,000 per student.

Sources said that since the government made no arrangements to pay the around Rs1 million cumulative penalty imposed by the council, the college’s Board of Governors had decided to pay fine using its own resources.

After the payment of penalty, the college sources said, PMDC has warned the college administration to restrict enrollment to  25 seats which had been approved by the council.

The council further warned that if an extra student was enrolled in the college before prior approval from the PMDC, the college’s principal would be fined Rs10 million and that he would also face imprisonment and removal from service.

However, the college has now approached the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, seeking funds to complete the college’s building and to bring in required equipment.



When approached for comments the secretary Board of Governors of Ayub Teaching Hospital Major (Retired) Dr Siddiq Rehman confirmed the contents of report adding that the BoG had taken up the matter with Khattak and the equipment will most likely be distributed to the C&W department in the next few days while the building would be ready by June 2017.

Once the building is completed, the hospital’s administration could thereafter apply with the PMDC to increase the number of seats to 50. Maj (retired) Dr Rehman added that the college would approach PMDC for final approval of the extra seats early next year.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2016.