In medical educational institutions (MTIs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, key management positions are often held by unqualified individuals, appointed on an acting basis or through court orders.In medical educational institutions (MTIs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, key management positions are often held by unqualified individuals, appointed on an acting basis or through court orders. Such individuals have held these positions since 2015, gaining considerable power and making it difficult to replace them. The lack of uniformity in salary packages for management positions across MTIs has created disparities, with managers often receiving higher pay than service providers like doctors. Most management positions are filled on a contract basis, with little clarity on job descriptions and salaries. To address these issues, the Policy Council has directed all 10 MTIs to provide information on employees holding administrative positions. The council’s notice specifically highlights that the Secretary of the Board of Governors should not be paid a salary higher than what is stipulated in the MTI Act, as the position is essentially secretarial and not a managerial one. This move aims to ensure that MTIs adhere to the law and that management positions are filled with qualified individuals based on merit rather than personal connections or court orders.
In most MTIs, key management positions are held by irrelevant individuals, usually on the basis of an acting charge or a court order of suspension.
The Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC) building in Peshawar. — Facebook/picardiology
PESHAWAR: In view of the serious problems in the medical educational institutions (MTIs), the policy council has directed the boards of governors (BoGs) of all 10 such institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to provide information about all employees holding administrative positions.
It is the first attempt by the Policy Board, headed by Dr Nausherwan Burki, the architect of the MTI Act, to do so. He has so far focused on the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) in Peshawar, where he has been the BoG chairman since the introduction of the Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act (MTIRA) in 2015.
In most MTIs, key management positions are held by irrelevant individuals, usually on an acting mandate or by court order.
Some have held these positions since 2015 and are so strong that they cannot simply be replaced.
Furthermore, there is no uniformity within the MTIs regarding the salary package of their employees, especially for employees in managerial positions such as dean, medical director, hospital director, nursing director, financial director and various managers.
In some MTIs, employees in management positions are paid high salaries. That is why doctors always complain that the managers in the MTIs are paid better salaries than they, the service providers.
With the exception of two or three, most management positions at MTIs are filled on a contract basis.
The policy committee has sent a notice, a copy of which is available with The News, to all 10 MTIs, including Lady Reading Hospital, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Peshawar Institute of Cardiology in Peshawar, Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad, Mufti Mahmood Hospital, Dera Ismail Khan, Mardan Medical Complex MTI, Mardan, Qazi Hussain Ahmad Medical Complex, Nowshera, Bacha Khan Medical Complex, Swabi and Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital, Bannu.
“Dear Board of Governors, I am directed to inform you that the Policy Council has been informed that in some medical educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Secretary of the Board of Governors has been hired on a job description and salary level much higher than what is stipulated in the MTI Act,” the notice read.
“The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms (Amendment) Act, 2020 specifically states (Chapter 111, Section 6(10)): The Secretary of the Council shall be an employee of the Council, who shall perform all secretarial and clerical functions of the Council under the direction of the Chairman; and shall be responsible for recording minutes of meetings of the Council, convening meetings of the Council, carrying out communication with all members of the Council and such other functions as may be prescribed by the Council or the Chairman.”
It was further explained that the position is essentially a secretarial one, at the level of an administrative assistant, and not a managerial position. The status and salary would therefore be appropriate for a secretary, albeit a highly qualified secretary.
According to officials, the MTI law has been misinterpreted in some MTIs and board secretaries are using official cars, fuel and housing.
