MBBS Programme

The Medical College offers a five-year undergraduate programme leading to the degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). The programme is designed to equip students with appropriate knowledge, skills, attitude, values and behaviours necessary to understand and influence factors that affect the health of individuals and of communities. The curriculum conforms to the requirements of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), which is the registering body in Pakistan.
Aga Khan University (AKU) attaches great emphasis to the professional, personal and intellectual development of students, so that its medical graduates become contributory members and leaders of society. The courses are structured to engender an understanding of human biology and behaviour consistent with current trends in medical education, with an emphasis on man as an organism as well as a social being.
The faculty of AKU Medical College has been deliberating and planning for curriculum renewal since 1999. While the renewed curriculum builds on strengths of the present one, it addresses areas needing improvement. It will maintain its high quality, but increase its flexibility, allowing students to develop more broadly and function effectively in low cost settings. It is based on the principles of adult learning and incorporates current Evidence-Based Medical Education concepts.
Degrees Upon satisfactory completion of the curricular requirements of the five-year course and certifying examinations, graduates are awarded the degree of Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) by AKU.
Since the establishment of the Medical College in 1983, PMDC has inspected the curriculum, the clinical studies, and the examinations of the Medical College, and has approved the University degrees for registration.
License to Practice Graduates will be required to register with PMDC in order to obtain a licence to practise in Pakistan. The Council requires experience of the practice of medicine and surgery or allied disciplines under supervision for a period of one year in an approved hospital prior to full registration. Aga Khan University Hospital has been inspected by PMDC and is approved for internship experiences.

Opposition PRI may get absolute majority in House of Representatives

According to several opinion polls, Mexico's opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) holds a firm lead against the government’s National Action Party (PAN) ahead of mid-term congressional elections to renew the House of Representatives. The polls also predicted a high level of abstention by voters.
Most of the pollsters gave a six point advantage to the PRI – which ruled Mexico for 71 years until 2000 – obtaining between 210 and 220 seats. If it forms an alliance with the Ecologist Green Party, the PRI could even obtain an absolute majority in the lower house, reported EFE, something no political force has achieved since 1994.
A poll published in Reforma showed that PRI could get 38 percent of votes, the conservative PAN party 33 percent and the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) 14 percent. Meanwhile, the number of swing voters rose from 21.3 percent to 28.8 percent.
Another poll published in Demotecnia and conducted by pollster María de la Heras showed that out of 1,000 people interviewed, 35 per cent would vote for PRI, 30 percent for PAN and 15 for the PRD. A survey published in El Universal put PRI in the lead with 29.9 percent of the votes, PAN with 23.8 percent and PRD with 10.8 percent.
According to Publimetro, the Federal Electoral Court was expecting an abstention level of 41 percent among the population. Leonardo Valdés, president of the Federal Election Institute (IFE), remarked that Mexicans' voting habits went through cycles and “this level of participation is normal and demonstrates that the electoral system has stabilized”.
Approximately 77 million people are eligible to vote to renew the 500-seat House of Representatives. Currently, the governing PAN party has a majority of 206 congressmen followed by PRD's 126 seats and the PRI's 106 seats. Six state governors will also be chosen, along with 600 mayors and local representatives in 11 of the country's 32 states.
On July 2 a “period of reflection” begins with a ban on campaigning and opinion polls. Political commentator Javier Aparicio wrote in his column for El Universal, “It's paradoxical that this should happen just when information about the candidates, their parties and their odds of winning is most important to allow citizens to compare alternatives and make up their minds”.

Research and Development

A dynamic world-class research culture is not only crucial to the economic growth of a country but is also imperative for the development of the academia of a country. HEC, being cognizant of this fact, thus aims to enhance the capacity of institutions of higher learning to carry out cutting edge research in the area of Science and Engineering as well as Social Sciences and Humanities. To achieve this objective, HEC has launched a number of research support programs.
HEC research grants program aims to instill research culture in institutions of higher learning which shall in turn promote and facilitate high quality indigenous research for fast industrialization, production of high value added goods and import substitutions along with export enhancement.
The funding policy supports and rewards world-class research, encourages effective collaborations and provides capacity for developing and extending research capability in frontier technologies. It is responsive to changes in the research environment and the requirement of researchers. The programs provide funding to enhance skill levels and working conditions for researchers and research students.

CIGARETTES VS BEEDI,s

In these times of recession when government is reducing taxes on everything, one product which does not deserve this benefit is cigarettes. let face it, CIGARETTES cause CANCER. did you know that every year more than 106 BILLION cigarettes are consumed by Indians compared to 1 TRILLION beedi's. And did u also know that there is no tax on beedi as compared to heavy and essential tax on cigarettes.Imagine if we tax beedi too ..........what could happen? let us enlist the effect first. We could collect an extra revenue worth Rs. 15,000 crore, at the same time this might have an influence on the poor and might make them quit.
so why haven't any of the finance minister realised any of this. well reason is simple enough beedi factories employ millions of poor. the poor like to buy cheap products. but lets face it it is cheap killer besides there are no warning on beedi packets.tax in crease can here be used as measure to preserve the health of the citizens.
A recent study by Emil Sunley, an IMF consultant, estimates that beedis account for 77% of all tobacco consumption but only 5% of excise duty His data refer mostly to 2007-08, but the dimensions of the problem have not changed materially since. Sunley says that the tax per thousand is Rs 14 for hand-made beedis and Rs 26 for machine-made ones. For cigarettes, the tax per thousand varies from Rs 168 for micro non-filter cigarettes to Rs 819 for the standard 70 mm filter cigarette and a whopping Rs 2,163 for filter cigarettes longer than 85 mm.
no wonder's about these the small things ......i still dont understand why it hasn't come to any one's notice but it would take an awakening to get this problem and many more like these to disappear.
Let us hope this reaches FM's eyes
JOHN F. KENNEDY
Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.