Daily Times

Ninety-one educational institutes – situated within the jurisdiction of the cantonment boards of the country – have been closed during the last three decades, Military Lands & Cantonments (MLC) Director Dr Saima Shah revealed while addressing a press conference at regional office.

While addressing a press conference, Dr Saima Shah said that in 1975, there were 13 colleges, 47 high schools, 23 middle schools and 41 primary schools in the cantonment boards of the country. However, she said that gradually the number of educational institutions declined, resulting in zero Cantonment Board Colleges in the country.

Similarly, only seven high schools, 12 middle schools and 14 primary schools were left.

While talking about the health situation in cantonment areas, she elaborated that only eight out of 44 cantonment areas in the country now have general hospitals – 21 are having only one or two dispensaries while 10 cantonments are without health facilities in the jurisdiction.

Sitting MLC Director General Major Syed Najamul Hassan upon taking over his office issued stern instructions and floated a three-year plan according to which 78 educational institutions stand complete last year and 38 more will be established this year in phase-I, she said.

She informed media; the plan envisaged a strategy to financially strengthen and to make the institutions self-sustainable by establishing medical colleges to make the cantonment general hospitals teaching hospitals. This is to lessen the financial burden over the meagre resources of the cantonments. Furthermore, she told that Cantonment General Hospital (CGH), Rawalpindi is being upgraded with a generous grant from the federal government in a sum of Rs 570 million. Parallel to this, Rs 115 million have also been allocated during the year 2017-18 while a five year allocation of a grant of similar extent ie Rs 115 million per year shall continuously be requested from the federal government until 2022-23, she added.

While answering a question, she said that in recognition of the services of existing medical/para-medical staff of CGH and capacity building, a comprehensive plan has been prepared which will be implemented phase wise. She admitted that in the past, there was a slight delay in promotions of the existing medical/para-medical staff which has seriously been viewed and is being finalised this month by the promotion committee. A comprehensive health care policy shall be aiming at hiring of services of good doctors to provide basic health services in the hospitals/dispensaries of the cantonments, she said.

Published in Daily Times, July 10^th 2018.