Govt asked to set up university to promote homoeopathy

PESHAWAR: The Frontier Homeopathic Medical College Vice-Principal retired Colonel Iqbal Shaheen has asked the government to promote homoeopathy in the country by establishing a university at the federal level.

Talking to The News, he said the government should also resolve the problems of homoeopaths and other practitioners in this field. Iqbal Shaheen, the son of the late Dr Ghayur Ahmad Khan, who founded the first homoeopathy degree college in the country, said the Frontier Homeopathic Medical College was established and affiliated with the University of Peshawar in 1998. He said the college offered the Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) (Graded Degree Course) to students in homeopathy. He said about 400 students had got BHMS degrees from the college and some college graduates have done their MS and PhDs. He said the National Council of Homeopathy (NCH) made untiring efforts to approve the syllabus for the five-year degree programme from the Higher Education Commission (HEC). He said the syllabus would be taught at around 150 colleges in the country offering BHMS in homeopathy. Iqbal Shaheen said the NCH had been making efforts to approve the courses for MD in homeopathy and the PhD programme from the HEC. He pointed out that Pakistan had lagged far behind from the regional countries in the field of homeopathy and said the government should facilitate the opening of more colleges to offer degree courses in homeopathy. “Presently matriculation is the requisite qualification for seeking a diploma course in homeopathy. Pakistan cannot excel in this field until graduate and postgraduate courses are offered at the college and university level,” he argued.