Pakistan Medical Association Sindh slams plan for night medical colleges

Karachi:The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Sindh, has strongly condemned the attitude and role of the vice-chancellors (VCs) of public and private medical universities in the promotion and establishment of night medical colleges in the country.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, PMA Sindh President Dr Samrina Hashmi referred to a letter from the prime minister’s secretariat regarding the endorsement of the idea by all VCs and principals of medical colleges in Sindh on the grounds that by doing so medical colleges and universities would be able to make money which could be utilised for the development of medical colleges.

“The PMA strongly believes that medical education is a serious matter as doctors deal with life and death of people. All these VCs and principals of medical colleges have no idea about the consequences of this kind of an experiment,” Dr Hashmi said, adding that nowhere in the world were night medical colleges allowed or functioning.

Only in Pakistan did members of medical faculty support the idea for their vested interest and money, she charged and added that all medical universities and colleges were receiving billions of rupees in grant and they did not need this kind of money from the students of night medical colleges to run their institutes.

The PMA Sindh demanded that all VCs, principals, and the faculty members of medical colleges should condemn this proposal of night medical colleges in the interest of medical education and medical profession.

The association also warned the parents of medical students against admissions of their children to any night medical colleges as such colleges would be blacklisted at the GMC and ECFMG as per their rules and regulations.

The PMA also demanded that the PMDC should not play games and stop supporting the establishment of night medical colleges immediately. “We demand of the government to act rapidly and reconstitute the PMDC to make it competent and transparent for the better running of medical institutes in Pakistan,” Dr Hashmi said.The news.