‘If SMC can, why can’t JPMC be a university too?’
Jinnah hospital staff wants varsity status for their institution.
KARACHI:
After the upgrade of Sindh Medical College (SMC) to a university, the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) employees have demanded that their institution be also elevated to the status of a federal university.
The Sindh Medical University, the college – formed in 1973 – was granted the university status on Friday after the Sindh governor signed an ordinance, making it the third medical university in Karachi.
However, the move has not gone down too well with the officials at Jinnah hospital.
The hospital’s administration and academic council staff, along with the departmental heads and the nursing staff members, adopted a resolution on Saturday demanding the promotion of the institution to a university. The meeting was chaired by JPMC Executive Director Dr Tasneem Ahsan.
They were of the view that the SMC has six basic departments only and was still given the university status, whereas the JPMC, its parent institution, has been totally neglected. The medical college was accommodated by the JPMC for nearly four decades and its students were taught and trained without any remuneration, they said.
The ordinance declaring Sindh Medical College a university has created a lot of confusion. People tend to mix up the major differences between the JPMC and Sindh Medical College. The Jinnah hospital, along with National Institute of Child Health (NICH) and National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) were recently devolved to the Sindh government. Their administrations, however, went to court, wanting to remain a part of the federal government. An administration official of the Jinnah hospital said that the making of Sindh Medical University had made the matters even more complex, as the SMC alone has no standing.
The participants of the meeting reiterated their demand of granting the JPMC the status of a federal university and making it a teaching hospital.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 3rd, 2012.
After the upgrade of Sindh Medical College (SMC) to a university, the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) employees have demanded that their institution be also elevated to the status of a federal university.
The Sindh Medical University, the college – formed in 1973 – was granted the university status on Friday after the Sindh governor signed an ordinance, making it the third medical university in Karachi.
However, the move has not gone down too well with the officials at Jinnah hospital.
The hospital’s administration and academic council staff, along with the departmental heads and the nursing staff members, adopted a resolution on Saturday demanding the promotion of the institution to a university. The meeting was chaired by JPMC Executive Director Dr Tasneem Ahsan.
They were of the view that the SMC has six basic departments only and was still given the university status, whereas the JPMC, its parent institution, has been totally neglected. The medical college was accommodated by the JPMC for nearly four decades and its students were taught and trained without any remuneration, they said.
The ordinance declaring Sindh Medical College a university has created a lot of confusion. People tend to mix up the major differences between the JPMC and Sindh Medical College. The Jinnah hospital, along with National Institute of Child Health (NICH) and National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) were recently devolved to the Sindh government. Their administrations, however, went to court, wanting to remain a part of the federal government. An administration official of the Jinnah hospital said that the making of Sindh Medical University had made the matters even more complex, as the SMC alone has no standing.
The participants of the meeting reiterated their demand of granting the JPMC the status of a federal university and making it a teaching hospital.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 3rd, 2012.