Four medical varsities in Punjab in ill health sans minister.

LAHORE -- Financial and administrative matters of the four public sector medical universities of the province and their attached medical colleges and hospitals have come to a grinding halt as the PML-N government in Punjab has delayed the allocation of the portfolio of the health ministry.

The universities facing hardships include Fatima Jinnah Medical University of Lahore, Rawalpindi Medical University, Faisalabad Medical University and the Nishtar Medical University of Multan.

A health minister is, as per the act of the medical universities, 'Pro-Chancellor', a key person to chair the syndicate meetings for granting approvals to programmes. A syndicate is the most powerful forum to grant approval to run the administrative and financial matters of public medical universities of Punjab.

An official privy to the development told Dawn that public hospitals attached to the universities and colleges were awaiting approval for the procurement of equipment, medicines and hiring of the human resource which required the syndicate's approval.

Similarly, the budget of the varsities also requires the approval of the syndicate to run the financial and administrative affairs of the mega teaching institutes.

In addition, he said, the postgraduate programmes and several diplomas also required the approval of the syndicate meetings.

The absence of the health minister has affected the completion of the Mother-Child Hospital at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, and the recruitment of staff from BS 17 to BS 19 at other teaching institutes.

Under the act, the official said, the syndicate meetings of the medical universities are to be chaired by the pro-chancellor.

Since the PML-N took over in April last, not a single syndicate meeting of any public medical university in...