LAHORE – When Punjab University Vice-Chancellor Dr Mujahid Kamran is desirous to set up a 150-bed teaching hospital along with medical and dental college, the already established Health Centre of the varsity has become useless, TheNation has learnt.
Teachers, students and employees of the varsity are not satisfied with the facilities being provided at the PU Health Centre. They complained that the University Health Centre did not provide free medicines. “Often, the doctors suggest the medicines which we have to purchase from market,” said a student residing at Hostel number four. While a hostel employee told this scribe that the university had taken back the facility of free medicine from the employees of BS 1 to 16.
The university administration had stopped the free medicine facility for the more than 3,000 employees of the varsity about one year ago. However, the university added a sum of Rs 500 in the medical allowance of the employees which was previously Rs 500 and now is Rs 1,000. The employees said they teachers were enjoying the free medicine facility and if they had to purchase any medicine from market, the university paid them on their claim. They said the employees were being discriminated even in the provision of health facilities, which was lamentable.
The Health Centre medical staff comprising one chief medical officer, (consultant physician), three senior medical officers, two lady medical officers, five medical officers, one dental surgeon, one ophthalmologist and one part-time radiologist.
An official of the Health Centre said that previously the centre had the budget of Rs 120 million but the university administration reduced the budget about Rs 50 million. Currently, the centre has been allocated Rs 70 million, he said. According to the PU official website, employees and their families are entitled to free medical treatment and provision of medicine. The Health Centre administration claims that more than 600 patients visit the centre daily.
While commenting on the issue, Chief Medical Officer Dr Nauman Ahmed said the university advisory committee on health had decided to stop provision of free medicine and to add medical allowance to the employees by following the notification of Punjab government. He said the Health Centre providing all facilities of medical treatment including medical advice and consultation, Gynecological and ante natal management, dental care, ambulance service and diagnostic facilities including ECG, X-ray, a clinical laboratory and ultra sonography.
PU awards 5 PhD degrees: Punjab University produced five PhDs in the fields of Molecular Biology, Punjabi, Urdu and Pakistan Studies.
As per details, PU awarded five PhD degrees to the scholars in which Muhammad Tahir Sarwar S/o Ghulam Sarwar in the subject of Molecular Biology after approval of his thesis entitled “Characterization of Inhibitory effects of siRNA against non-structural genes of HCV Genotype 3A’’, Rashid Ahmad S/o Abdul Qayyum in the subject of Punjabi after approval of his thesis entitled “Suba Sarhad Da Punjabi Adab Tehqiqitey Tanqidi Jaiza”, Naheed Qadir D/o Ch Ghulam Qadir in the subject of Punjabi after approval of her thesis entitled “Impacts of English Criticism on Punjabi Criticism, 1947-2005, (An Analytical and Critical Study)”, Kiran Altaf D/o Altaf Hussain in the subject of Urdu after approval of her thesis entitled “The Impact of Colonilism on Urdu Fiction” and Amna Mahmood D/o Mahmood Ul Hassan in the subject of Pakistan Studies after approval of her thesis entitled “Transition from Military to Civilian Rule in Pakistan (1985-1999)”.