Future of 58 veterinary college graduates at stake

Baqai College of Veterinary Sciences has failed to meet criteria for registration

KARACHI: Fifty-eight graduates of Baqai College of Veterinary Sciences (BCVS) are waiting to get jobs, which is dependent on their registration by the Pakistan Veterinary and Medical Council (PVMC). Meanwhile, BCVS is not fulfilling the criteria on which the council accredits the students.

From a total of 13 institutes of veterinary sciences in Pakistan, Sindh only has three. Karachi has only one of these three, which is also of private sector. The graduating students from every institute have to be registered with PVMC, after which they can practise their profession and also apply for higher education. However, the unfortunate students of BCVS have not been registered since the very beginning of the programme.



The college started in 2002 and the first batch from the university graduated in academic year of 2005-2006. Due to a lack of proper facilities and the non-fulfilment of the specified criteria of veterinary college, the council informed the college administration not to hold further admissions in the institute.

The college did not hold admissions in 2008, while the admissions were resumed between the years 2009-2013.

“Since 2013, the admissions to the college have been stopped,” said a fourth-year BCVS student, adding that he is a part of the last batch that is studying in the college. Only four students are left from my batch as everyone left due to an uncertainty of their degree, he told The Express Tribune.

The students were asked by the university to approach the officials themselves, he informed, adding that a group of students approached Senator Taj Haider for the purpose and Haider forwarded the case to the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC). Nonetheless, the efforts went in vain as the council demanded the college to increase its number of professors and maintain laboratories, libraries and other facilities.

“PVMC has visited the BCVS campus three times recently and has also sent reminder letters to the institute to fulfil the criteria so the students can get registered,” said the student.

Another BCVS student, who graduated this year, lamented that he cannot apply for higher education as every university or even job application demands proof of registration from PVMC.

“There are a few graduates who have started their personal clinics but they have also been pointed out by others as illegal as they do not have the registration from PVMC,” he said, adding that at first, the college administration gave a written letter to the students, assuring that the issues of registration will be resolved by the end of 2011. The students had meetings with the vice-chancellor and even the owner of Baqai University but nothing substantial has been done.

“They [Baqai University] maintained a few things from the criteria but still it wasn’t sufficient,” said the students, informing that the Baqai Medical University finance director always guaranteed the students that they will not be left in the middle of such a situation and BCVS will let them obtain their registrations. However, all those false claims remain unheard.

“In our last meeting with VC Zahida Baqai, on a query about what the institute was doing to resolve the students’ issue, she had replied that the institute had not forced the students to take admission and those who were having issues can take a reimbursement of their fees,” he informed. “It is not about the fee we paid but it is about our five years of study.”

Meanwhile, PVMC president Muhammad Arshad told The Express Tribune that they will accredit the students on the same day when the college meets the criteria designed for all veterinary colleges.

“We do not have any personal issues with the college or students,” said Arshad. “We are just following our system.” He added that the college does not have a sufficient number of teachers and facilities.

BCVS vice-principal Dr Jameeluddin Warsi told The Express Tribune that Baqai Medical University’s administration and the council have conflicts on some issues, which will never end. “We only have one class right now as we were stopped from [offering] admissions,” said Warsi. He added that the demands that the council has put up include three main issues - the salaries of teachers should be the same as that of teachers from other universities, at least nine teachers should be appointed for the first year of the college and the financial matters should be regularised by the principal.

The council is helpful for the students who are graduating, said Warsi. “They [PVMC] conduct crash courses and hold theoretical and surgical exams of the students in Lahore, after which the students who clear the exams are given registration by the council,” he explained.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2016.