‘Four new medical colleges to educate the poor’

LAHORE – Establishing four new medical colleges in Punjab is part of mission of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to enable children of poor people acquire education, as their parents cannot afford expenses of million of rupees in private-sector medical colleges, Punjab Health Parliamentary Secretary Saeed Elahi said on Tuesday. He said that the decision to set-up medical colleges in the public-sector has complete support of the Punjab government and finance department and it has been a tradition that such colleges start functioning while formalities are completed at the government level.
Saeed said that the Rawalpindi Medical College, Punjab Medical College, Faisalabad and the Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore were also set-up in small buildings and today these institutions are known worldwide. The parliamentary secretary said that private-sector medical colleges charge annual fees of Rs 0.5 million to one million while medical colleges in the public-sector receive only a few thousand rupees from students. He said that the Punjab CM wants to see such poor students acquire medical education whose parents cannot afford to pay fees worth millions of rupees on education.
Saeed said that children of poor families have the same right to acquire higher education as children of rich and affluent classes. He said that the new medical colleges would play an important role in ensuring a bright future for children of poor families of backward areas and lead to a social revolution.
The parliamentary secretary said that the newly-established four medical colleges would play a vital role in brightening the future of poor children of backward areas, which would bring a social and economic revolution in the country. Saeed vowed that more medical colleges would be established in Punjab next year. He said that after passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, setting-up of medical colleges and their regulatory authority would be dispensed to provincial governments and in the future, provinces would perform this task.