No more medical universities... By Alfred
31 October, 2012
The Sindh governor has announced that the Karachi Medical and Dental College will attain university status soon. The creation of new universities, along with giving university status to existing medical colleges, is not a good strategy. Previously, there existed the impression that adequate faculty was unavailable in these institutes and hence medical graduates were not getting the required standard of education and training. Even at present, experts in medical education are not satisfied with the curriculum and training of medical students in Pakistan. The reputation of a few existing medical colleges now boasting university status is quite negative. On the international level, research work is associated with medical universities. Any new invention in the medical field and any new diagnosis are the hallmarks of medical universities around the world. Unfortunately, this is not the custom in our country. Many of our 'universities' do not fulfill the necessary criteria to become universities at all. Graduates produced from these universities will never make a lasting impression when presenting their academic certificates anywhere else in the world. With the mushrooming growth of these universities, another technical question arises. Institutes like the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP), which is a postgraduate diploma and degree awarding institution, are still called colleges. Both the federal and provincial governments should think about doing something about this. For the time being, announcements for more medical universities should be avoided. DR ALFRED CHARLES
Karachi
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