JSMU Senate approves new institutions, expansion

KARACHI:The 3rd senate meeting of the Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) reviewed the University’s performance and approved operational decisions and financial estimates.

In the absence of the Pro-Chancellor Provincial Minister for Health Dr Azra Fazal Pechuhu on account of an emergency, the meeting was chaired by the Vice Chancellor JSMU Prof SM Tariq Rafi.

The Senate approved last meeting’s minutes without change and reviewed the biannual progress report presented by the Vice Chancellor.

The Senate noted that the University that had begun with a single constituent college in 2012, but now has opened eight institutes, affiliated ten colleges and enrolled over 7,000 students.

The meeting also discussed the University’s social responsibility initiatives of dental and family medicine outpatients departments and the diagnostic laboratory which provide low cost, high quality services to the masses on a no profit basis.

JSMU teams’ visits to Tharparkar to organize medical camps and provide training to the local Human resource were also highlighted.

The University’s successful completion of Sindh provinces’ medical college’s centralized admissions process following a single entry test, was also discussed, emphasizing the fair and transparent handling of the process against which no complaint was registered. The Vice Chancellor shared with the honourable senate members that the University had shifted all examinations to online format even for the affiliated colleges and students and institutions are provided support in meeting the standard and format of the online examination.

He also described the efforts to provide a safe and secure environment to the students with the installation of 444 security cameras and two monitoring stations, firefighting system, and barbed wires along the boundary walls of the two campuses. The University has bought equipment worth Rs 100,000,000 for its skills laboratory while JSMU Alumni Association of North America has contributed equipment worth Rs 15,000,000. University’s fleet of buses has grown from zero to 17 with 6 new buses being added soon. Conferences on Medical Education and Ramadan and health hosted by the University were also discussed.

The Senate also post facto approved of the revised estimates and actual budgets for 2016-17 and 2017-18, and budget estimate for 2018-19. The annual audited accounts of the year 2015-16 were also presented and approved. In addition, the Senate approved of the face-lifting, repair and addition the university’s buildings.

Senate member elected on the alumni seat Dr Abdul Jabbar Khattak inquired about the capacity of the University’s hostels, on which he was apprised of the uplift and expansion plan of the hostels.

On his query about the PM and DC’s directive of changing over to the annual system from the semester, he was informed that the PM and DC has not recommended any change in the teaching methodology, only examinations have been restricted to once a year.

He was also told that the new controller of examination has been recently appointed through a selection board while the post of registrar is being looked after by a senior professor temporarily as no suitable candidates had appeared in response to the advertisement.

The JSMU Senate includes Provincial Secretary Health, Provincial Secretary Boards and Universities, CEO Indus Hospital Dr Abdul Bari Khan, Philanthropist Ms Nadra Punjwani, Professor of Gynaecology and Obstetrics Sadiqua Jaffary, and Professor of Paediatrics Zeenat Essani among others.