Lahore – Senior doctors across the country have sprung to action after the election schedule for the council and the coveted slot of the president, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan (CPSP) has been announced, Pakistan today has learnt.
The CPSP is the only body which conducts post graduate medical training in the country and produces fellows of the college of physicians and surgeons of Pakistan (FCPS). The affairs of the CPSP are run by a 20-member elected council which further elects a president from amongst themselves, besides posting regional directors.
The elections to the influential council take place after every four years. There are more than 13,000 fellows of the CPSP, however, only fellows with ‘good standing’- those who pay their annual dues- will be allowed to cast their votes, making up to nearly 7,000 voters.
The 20 seats have been divided among provinces depending upon the number of fellows from each province. 11 seats have been reserved for Punjab, one for Balochistan, six for Sindh and two for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Each fellow will cast 20 votes, with no member casting more votes than the number of seats given to a particular province.
CMH Medical College Lahore Principal Lt Gen (r) Syed Afzaal Ahmad is the chief election commissioner, with three members and one secretary election commission. The date for elections has been set to be January 29 and results will be declared on January 30. Two major groups have been announced this year. One is the incumbent president Prof Zafarullah Chaudhry opposing the panel led by former CPSP president Dr Sultan Farooqi. Dr Khalid Masood Gondal is heading the Chaudhry’s panel in Lahore, while renowned gynecologist Dr Rashid Latif is heading Farooqi’s panel in the city.
As per the convention and the CPSP ordinance, campaign or canvassing is not allowed, as the body is purely academic.
However, senior doctors, seeking anonymity, told Pakistan Today that doctors have been involved in canvassing and campaign, despite a clear restriction. “All kinds of methods are being employed to win the elections; both allowed and banned. Text messages are circulating about allegations on the incumbent council, and senior doctors are taking rounds of major hospitals across the city,” they added.
They further said involvement of politics into academic affairs has affected the performance of an academic institution of high repute. Those who leveled allegations against the incumbent council said now the focus of the council was to appease fellows to win elections and not to achieve academic excellence. “Local supervisors have replaced foreign examiners; a local teacher will examine his or her own students, compromising on merit. Even the previous panel never wanted to be out of power, just like the current one and this has turned an academic body into a political one,” they concluded.
Local supervisors have replaced foreign examiners; a local teacher will examine his or her own students, compromising on merit. Even the previous panel never wanted to be out of power, just like the current one and this has turned an academic body into a political one,
Doctors warm up as CPSP elections approach
