512 graduates to receive degrees of KP’s first and largest medical college

KMC convocation today

PESHAWAR: Established in 1954, the Khyber Medical College is holding its convocation today.According to officials, 512 graduates of the session 2012-13 will be awarded degrees and gold medals would be conferred on the top 20 position holders.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s first and largest public sector medical college admits 275 best position holder students every year through the Education Testing and Evaluation Agency (ETEA) test.

Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan is scheduled to chair the convocation as chief guest.KMC is the premier and mother medical institution of the province and is known for imparting quality medical education and producing the best graduates.

The college has the largest and highly qualified faculty, state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities, updated laboratories and a 1,200-bed purpose-built tertiary care hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH).

The students with highest marks and top merit are given admission in KMC and the largest numbers of students are accommodated there.

Prof Dr A.K.M Abdul Wahid was the first principal of the college and served from 1955 to 58.Prof Dr Ejaz Hassan Khan Khattak is these days leading the college. He took the charge of his office in 2013.

In addition to quality undergraduate medical education, KMC is conducting postgraduate courses of M.Phil, Ph.D and FCPS courses in Basic Medical Sciences to meet the acute shortage of teachers in these subjects in the province.

The college is also conducting FCPS courses in all clinical specialties to provide specialist doctors for the need of the province.

The KMC has become the first medical college in the province where lectures on videoconferencing have been started for imparting education to students.

With the collaboration of the KMC alumni of North America, the Clinical Skills Centre has been established in the college.

The college has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent North America (APPNA).

The college has faculty exchange programme with the University of Toledo, Ohio for the last 25 years.The college has undergone major repair, renovation and upgradation of laboratories with up-to-date equipment. The previous Awami National Party-led coalition government had allocated millions of rupees for the repair work, though there were reports of misuse and embezzlement of the funds meant for the renovation of college.

Some of the faculty members had raised the issue on several forums but nobody took notice. They were of the view that the funds were wasted on renovation of old buildings. They argued that the money could have been better used for constructing new multi-storey building in the college to accommodate more people.

There were also reports that merit was not followed during award of the contract for the college renovation work.

According to the college administration, the KMC has become the first medical college in the country that has got Plastination laboratory in its Anatomy Department to preserve bodies or parts of the body.

Also, the college has been provided deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) laboratory, which is functional in the Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department.

Though it is claimed that both these laboratories are first of its kind in KP, insiders told The News that the DNA laboratory has not been functional due to lack of staff. Also, they feared that the guarantee period of the precious equipment would expire soon.

The college will soon have its calamity hall with six autopsy tables and the mortuary will be able to keep 100 bodies at a time for storage.

A college official said some of the projects had help upgrade the teaching and learning facilities to international standards.

The college administration is also working on establishing new departments of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Virology, Medical Education Department, Examination Department, I.T, Clinical Skill Department, etc in the KMC.Besides other problems, the KMC faces lack of accommodation for its male and female students.