Zardari inaugurates Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al- Nahyan Medical and Dental College Lahore

President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari inaugurated Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al- Nahyan Medical and Dental College Lahore at Governor’s House here yesterday.
The Chairman of Sheikh Zayed Medical Complex (SZMC), Prof Dr. Anwwar Ahmed Khan was quoted by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) as saying a total of 100 students from across the country would be given admission on open merit to first year MBBS commencing next month in the college.
Unfolding the salient features of the admission policy, he said the college, approved by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and affiliated with Punjab University, would provide medical education to students on a self-finance basis, out of which top 25 percent of total merit students would be given financial aid while the remaining students would have to pay 450,000 Pakistani Rupees in first year.

Zardari inaugurates Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al- Nahyan Medical and Dental College Lahore

Dr Anwaar said the college, equipped with best allied medical facilities attached to the SZMC, would be run on a no-profit no-loss basis and after offering a special package of incentives in line with the government policy, services of highly trained and internationally acclaimed experienced faculty members would be acquired for bringing the educational standard of the college at par with international level. He said an Endowment Fund has been set up to meet financial needs of the college, announcing an early grant of 50 million Rupees for the Fund.

The federal government has formally notified the commissioning of undergraduate Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Medical College at Shaikh Zayed Medical Complex, Lahore. The new college is offering 100 MBBS seats on a self-finance basis.The fee for first year, including admission fee, will be Rs480,000 followed by Rs450,000 every year. The college is offering seats on an all Pakistan and open merit basis.The applicants, who have started submitting applications, will be required to qualify the entrance test to be conducted by the National Testing Service (NTS). The applicants’ marks obtained at FSc level will have 50 per cent weightage in the merit criteria. This was announced by Shaikh Zayed Medical Complex chairman Prof Dr Anwaar A Khan and undergraduate medical college principal Prof Dr Zafar Iqbal while speaking at a joint press conference here on Friday.

Prof Khan said the college would strive to raise its academic excellence to the level of Aga Khan Medical as well as Harvard and Oxford universities. In order to make it the best medical college, he said, the institution would admit the best of the best students from all over the country. In order to retain the bright but needy students, he said, the college would offer financial assistance to “the bright but needy students” from its endowment fund.

For now, he said, the college had little en dowment and would not be able to fund some 25 per cent bright but needy students. “The students, who will appear on college’s merit list but fail to pay dues will lose their right of admission,” he added. Prof Khan said the Punjab University (PU) had granted affiliation to the college for 100 students.The college would keep its affiliation intact with the PU.

“The graduates of newly-established universities face recognition problems,” he said and added that the University of Health Sciences had asked the affiliation of Shaikh Zayed Postgraduate Medical Institute but the institute obtained a direction from the High Court to stay affiliated with the PU as per its discretion.

The college principal said the existing staff and manpower of the Shaikh Zayed Medical Complex would be used along with already sanctioned posts that were lying vacant. He said the existing building and facilities would be utilised temporarily to run the college. He said the new building would be made out of the income generated by the medical college at an already earmarked site within the Shaikh Zayed Medical Complex.

He said extra funding of Rs300 million would be required to start the medical college because the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council required the setting up of an endowment fund with Rs50 million, whose interests should be utilised for refurbishing the laboratories, library and museums to enhance the quality of education.