FAISALABAD – Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah has revealed that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has allocated Rs 14.50 billion for various health projects in the province. He was speaking at Circuit House Faisalabad after a briefing on the progress of the proposed second medical college in Faisalabad.
Punjab Medical College Principal Professor Dr Riaz Hussain Dubb briefed the audience that included Divisional Commissioner Tahir Hussain, District Coordination Officer (DCO) Nasim Sadiq, PML-N MPA Khawaja Muhammad Islam and a number of government officials. Speaking on the occasion, Rana Sanaullah said, “With the establishment of another medical college, the illegal medical practice of quacks will be discouraged and the public will have improved health facilities available to them.”
Professor Dr Riaz Hussain said Lahore was a city of 10 million people, having a total of 20 medical colleges – eight running under the government control and 12 others in the private sector. He added the total number of hospital beds in the provincial capital stood at 20,000.
Comparing the demographic position of Faisalabad, the PMC principal said: “We have an 8 million population in Faisalabad, but only three medical colleges one running under the government control (PMC) and two private colleges – with a total of 2,000 hospital beds.” The vacancies of 179 doctors in various hospitals of Faisalabad division also came under the spotlight during the meeting. Dr Riaz put forward the proposal of opening a dental college in the existing college of paramedics.
Rana Sanaullah agreed to the justification given by the PMC principal and promised he would brief the Punjab chief minister on the important issue of a new medical college. He hoped the project would be put on the priority list of the chief minister. Last year, Shahbaz Sharif directed the Punjab health secretary to forward a detailed report on the establishment of another medical college in Faisalabad to accommodate the increasing number of students in the medical field.
The proposal was initially raised by the district coordinator for health and PML-N leader Sheikh Ajaz Ahmed who is campaigning for the project. During the last visit of Nawaz Sharif to Faisalabad, he submitted a written application with all relevant information to him, containing a request for the establishment of a second medical college in the city. In this perspective, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had directed the Punjab health secretary through a letter No 81573PS/SCM(CMS)D-10 OT-46G dated December 15, 2010, to submit a report urgently.
Faisalabad, being the political stronghold of PML-N, it is hoped that the Punjab government will seriously consider the issue which carries a strong social justification more than political convenience. Punjab Medical College (PMC) is the only government institution in Faisalabad division, imparting professional education in the field of medicine.
But it is unable to cater to the needs of Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh and Chiniot that have a combined population of 12 million people. The student community has appreciated the new move for the establishment of another medical college. Even the opening of another medical college is not enough to accommodate the growing number of students. The students say that the Punjab government must double the total number of seats in all the medical colleges so that maximum number of students can serve the nation through the professional education.
“On one hand, the government statistics say we need more doctors and hospitals to strengthen the health infrastructure in the country, but at the same time the government is denying opportunity to students aspiring for a medical degree”, said a second year pre-medical student of GC University Faisalabad. “As a result of this glaring contradiction, numerous boys and girls are compelled to migrate to China and Russian Republics to get a medical degree,” he said.
“Millions of rupees are sent out of Pakistan to these countries in terms of academic expenditures,” he said.
