Tuesday, December 15, 2009
By By Khalid Khattak
LAHORE
THE Punjab government’s decision to
establish a veterinary university in
Bahawalpur has invited strong criticism from
the Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council (PVMC).
The PVMC, expressing concerns over lack of
qualified faculty, deteriorating standard of
veterinary and animal husbandry education
and shortage of practical facilities in
existing institutions, has questioned the
establishment of a new university.
The council has also expressed resentment
against the government for not taking it on
board in the whole process on the plea that
it had the mandate to establish and regulate
uniform standards of veterinary and animal
husbandry education and practice.
Talking to The News on Monday, Dr Alamdar
Hussain Malik, secretary/registrar PVMC,
said the University College of Veterinary
and Animal Sciences at the Islamia
University Bahawalpur (IUB) had already been
established in 2006 and the college was
still short of qualified faculty, practical
and proper accommodation facilities.
’It is strange that a veterinary college has
already been established at the IUB while a
full-fledged veterinary university is being
established in Bahawalpur,’ he said and
added that in 2006, four veterinary
institutions were established in Punjab
without having the minimum basic mandatory
requirements for such institutions.
Dr Malik said that presently 10 institutions
in the public sector and one in private
sector were offering five-year DVM degree
programmes in the country.
‘Out of these institutions, the Veterinary
College IUB, Veterinary Faculty Bahauddin
Zakariya University (BZU), Multan, College
of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Jhang,
and Veterinary Faculty Arid Agriculture
University, Rawalpindi, are yet to get their
accreditation and recognition of their
institutions and degree programmes from the
PVMC,’ he said.
Dr Malik further said the Gomal College of
Veterinary Science, DI Khan, and the Faculty
of Veterinary Sciences, Uthal University,
Balochistan, which got the provisional
accreditation and recognition had not
fulfilled the minimum required criteria yet
which might force the PVMC to review its
earlier decision.
‘What to talk about the newly-established
vet institutions, the University of
Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, an
institution which has completed its 125
years, has yet to complete its faculty in
some very important subjects, i.e. anatomy,
veterinary public health, epidemiology and
pathology,’ he maintained.
‘The veterinary sciences, is not an easy
business like the upgrade of a middle school
to a secondary level,’ the
secretary/registrar PVMC said and added:
‘Veterinary medical science is the only
which have the comparative anatomy and
medicine and also it is much diversified
profession than the human medical
profession.’
He said for the sake of arguments, when the
veterinary university at Bahawalpur would be
established and recruitment for the faculty
would be advertised, all trained faculty in
the newly established institutions would
prefer to join the university.
‘Then what will be the fate of the present
veterinary institutions?’ he questioned.
To support his argument, Dr Malik said when
in 2002, the College of Veterinary Science,
Lahore, was upgraded to the university
status, the qualified professionals from all
over the country joined the university and
the institutions which they left had yet to
fill that positions.
Dr Malik further quoted an example regarding
the glaring situation of brain-drain of the
qualified veterinarians, saying when the
UVAS advertised the post of Professor of
Epidemiology there was only one applicant
and the same was the case in most of the
subjects.
‘When everybody, especially the political
leaders in the country, believe in the
supremacy of the Parliament, the mandate of
the PVMC as a regulatory body, which is
entrusted powers, through the Act of the
Parliament, may also be given proper respect
and the PVMC participation while making the
decisions regarding the veterinary/animal
husbandry education and practice,’ he said
and added that there was no doubt that the
Punjab chief minister was fully committed to
strengthening the veterinary education and
livestock sector to counter the poverty and
unemployment in the province but without
taking the PVMC on board ‘I am afraid this
effort may not produce the desired results,’
he said.
Sources in the Punjab Livestock and Dairy
Development Department said that DG
Extension Dr Muhammad Irfan Zahid had
recently written to the departmentís
secretary about the plight of vet
institutions of the province. They said the
DG expressed displeasure over the standard
of education in these institutes besides
exposing the lack of facilities there.
About the standard of education, the DG had
expressed strong concerns while saying some
graduates had given ëridiculousí answers to
simple questions in tests for different
posts in the Livestock and Dairy Development
Department and attached bodies, the sources
said.
They further said the idea regarding
establishment of a full fledged veterinary
university in Bahawalpur was basically the
brainchild of Punjab Chief Secretary Javed
Mahmood. They added that all the problems
faced by the vet institutes in Punjab were
ironically ignored when the high-ups were
ëponderingí how to turn the CSís dream into
reality.
When contacted, Deputy Secretary (Technical)
of the Livestock and Dairy Development
Department Dr Iftikhar said the
establishment of a university was a policy
matter and the PVMC had no role in this
regard.
‘Its role comes only for accreditation of
degrees and programmes offered at vet
institutes,’ he added.
To a question about the lack of facilities
and shortage of qualified faculty at
existing vet institutes, Dr Iftikhar said it
was the responsibility of the Chancellorís
Office to look after such issues.
‘We are dealing only with policy matters,’
he said and added that shortage of qualified
faculty was there but we needed future
veterinarians for commercial farming,
leather industry and other such growing
industries. He also confirmed that the
establishment of a vet university in
Bahawalpur was the idea of the chief
secretary and added that a presentation was
later given to the chief minister who okayed
it.
To a question, Dr Iftikhar said that land
had been identified for the said project
which had also been approved by the Board of
Revenue. He said the new university would be
linked with the top vet institutes of the
world.
DG Extension Dr Muhammad Irfan Zahid, when
contacted, confirmed that he had recently
written about deteriorating standard of vet
institutions of the province. He said after
establishment of a veterinary university in
Bahawalpur, the faculty of the IUB College
of Veterinary and Animal Sciences would be
merged with the new university.
Agreeing that there was a shortage of
qualified faculty, the DG Extension said the
new university would be set up totally on a
new concept, adding that it would have
satellite link with the foreign
universities.
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