Baqai Medical University

Baqai Medical University was founded in 1988 on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan and is ranked no.3 in the HEC rankings for medical universities in Pakistan ^[1]. Courses are in medicine, dentistry, pharmaceutical sciences, and veterinary science, and there are inter-disciplinary courses.

Baqai Medical University

Baqai Medical University

History

Whereas most medical colleges in Pakistan were set up by the country’s Provinces or by the Federal Government, the history of Baqai Medical University is an example of private enterprise.

Dr Fareed Uddin Baqai and his wife Dr Zahida Baqai were medical practitioners and surgeons who had been educated in Pakistan and the United Kingdom and began to practice in Karachi, which at that time was the capital of Pakistan. In the late 1960s, they started a private sector hospital in Nazimabad, Karachi, the Baqai Hospital Nazimabad, which became a general hospital with 350 beds and modern facilities aimed at middle-income private patients, also doing charitable work.

In the 1970s it was clear that a more massive programme of community development was needed, with medical education built around community development, together with ancillary institutions. In 1976 the Baqai Foundation acquire land on the outskirts of Karachi, on the Super Highway. There it established Pakistan’s first rural Medical Centre, supported by secondary and tertiary health-care structures. The Baqais founded Baqai Medical Complex and opened a Rural Health Center to serve the rural area of Karachi.

They convinced the government that health delivery could be through a programme of Community Oriented Medical Education. This stimulated them to plan a Medical College, the building of which was started in the 1980s. In 1988, the first MBBS students were admitted, although it was not until 1990 that the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council formally permitted the College to start clinical teaching at Baqai Hospital, Nazimabad. In 1992, the Baqai Foundation went on to establish the Baqai Dental College, the first such college for the huge city of Karachi. A department of Dental Materials was established.

The medical college and the dental college are inspected by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council inspectorate. On completing their education, the first medical and dental students were granted their degrees by the University of Karachi. The PMDC recognized the university’s degrees of MBBS and BDS.

Institutions

The institutions of the university include its medical, dental and veterinary colleges, plus a Cadet College and institutes of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Health Management Sciences, Hematology.^[2], Management Sciences, Medical Technology, Diabetology and Endocrinology, Chest Diseases, Cardiovascular Diseases, Reproduction and Developmentarian Sciences, Social Obstetrics, and Information Technology.^[3]

Admissions

Merit is the only criterion for admission. There are no quotas, reserved places or places based on donations. In establishing merit, entrance tests, interviews and school records are used.

Faculty

Grants and scholarships are provided for faculty members to travel abroad to seminars and conferences and for higher education. The university has a programme of education through its Centre for Medical Education.