Days after they were dissolved, K-P notifies BoGs for MTIs

Notice issued by office of interim chief minister Justice (retd) Dost

PESHAWAR: With the board of governors (BoG) of all medical teaching institutions (MTIs) in the province dissolved after a court stay order was vacated and the set time expired, the interim chief minister of the province has moved swiftly to constitute new boards for these institutions.

According to a notification issued by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retired) Dost Muhammad Khan, new BoG members for all MTIs across K-P have been announced.

According to details, the apex court in June had directed to dissolve the BoGs of nine teaching hospitals in the province. However, the Supreme Court had allowed the boards to remain in place until the new boards were formed. Later a stay order had been issued. That stay, however, ended on June 29, automatically dissolving the boards.



“On account of the unsatisfactory performance of the BoGs, created by the management of different hospitals, the boards are dissolved and the K-P chief secretary is directed to prepare and move a summary for consulting new boards,” the apex court at its registry in the provincial capital had ordered earlier in June.

The bench, however, had directed that until the new government takes over, the new boards created may include some members who are part of the past set up as decided by the caretaker chief minister.

Soon after the BoGs were dissolved, the caretaker chief minister, as empowered by the apex court in its judgment, announced new BoGs for all the nine medical teaching institutions and a notification was also issued in this regard.

Apart from the dissolution of the boards, the government was directed to launch an inquiry into the appointments and promotions at these institutions.

The provincial government, in a notification issued earlier this month, stated that a committee will be formed to probe the issue of promotions at MTIs.

“The K-P chief secretary was pleased to constitute the committee comprising special secretary health, additional secretary finance department, additional secretary establishment department and chief executive officer of the Post Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI) Peshawar,” the notification had read.



According to the notification, the committee will be looking into each and every appointment and promotion carried out in MTIs over the past three years in accordance with the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) rules, service and general rules, credentials of candidates and certify that each appointment and promotion was based on merit.

MTIs have faced immense resistance, especially from those working within the health industry. Earlier in 2015, a larger bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had dismissed a number of constitutional petitions challenging K-P MTI Reforms Act 2015 after the law was declared to be in accordance with the Constitution.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2018.