Punjab govt by-passing PPSC

LAHORE Eliminating the role of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), the Punjab government is all set to fill vacant posts of Associate Professors and Assistant Professors by confirming the services of medics appointed on contract basis, though after amending service rules. Not only that, the Punjab government has gone one step further ahead by filling remaining posts in teaching cadre, by transferring contractual medics in general cadre after confirming their services. Expressing concerns and reservations over new policy of the government, senior doctors believe that the decision will deteriorate quality of medical education at colleges and healthcare facilities at public sector teaching hospitals. Giving arguments, they said majority of the contractual medics had completed three-year post graduation well before the syllabus was updated in accordance with the international standards. These contract doctors, they claimed, could not compete with the medics who got degrees from College of Physicians and Surgeons or completed FCPS and MRCP from abroad. Majority of the contract medics have post graduation from local institutes before the syllabus was updated in accordance with the international standards. Moreover, general cadre doctors have hardly any teaching experience and their induction as APs will deteriorate quality of medical education and ultimately health facilities at hospitals. Filling all vacant posts with these postgraduates will stop induction of more qualified, learned and trained doctors in the service in near future. To accommodate more qualified postgraduates from local institutions and abroad, there will be no vacant post of AP and the government has no money to establish new medical colleges and hospitals in next five years. These qualified post graduates will have no other alternative but to look for opportunities abroad, said Dr M Abdul Rauf, President Postgraduate Doctors Association Punjab. He said the decision of bringing less qualified doctors to equal to those who got competitive education from abroad and entered the service through PPSC examination would create rift and unrest at teaching hospitals. He said that confirmation of contractual doctors would block career movement of those inducted through PPSC. He said that the government had no reason and logic to take this decision while the contract doctors had furnished affidavit at the time of appointment that they would not demand confirmation. The contract doctors were recruited by local hospitals without proper advertisement. Mainly relatives of serving doctors and officials of hospitals were accommodated. Majority of them would definitely have failed to get appointment through PPSC, Dr Abdul Rauf claimed. He said these contract doctors were reluctant to compete with those who had completed post graduation after going through comprehensive and updated syllabus. Referring to the confirmation of Associate Professors, he said that the PPSC would only evaluate suitability of contract doctors one by one and they would not go through a competition.