PESHAWAR: Authorities at the medical teaching institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have voiced concern about legal disputes regarding membership of the board of governors and urged board members to abandon their positions for smooth operations at teaching hospitals. “Though board offices are voluntary, they’re high in demand, with no incumbent willing to leave,” an MTI director told Dawn. He said the BoG members appointed by the caretaker government were removed after the PTI formed the current government in the province early this year but they continued to hold their positions due to the legal battles for which they’re paying lawyers huge fees. The director said the PTI enforced the Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act, 2015, during its first government in the province. Urge board members to quit for smooth operations According to him, the law, meant to grant financial and administrative autonomy to the teaching hospitals and their affiliated medical and dental colleges, has been implemented in 10 MTIs in phases. Under it, the BoGs governs each of the MTI-covered institutions, with their members picked by the search and nomination council led by the health minister. The BoGs have powers to make appointments to top MTI positions, including deans and medical, hospital, nursing and finance directors, and former bureaucrats, doctors, lawyers and other professionals were inducted to run those institutions. The director insisted that things went smoothly regarding key nominations, with mostly people close to the ruling PTI grabbing those positions, but last year, the provincial caretaker government replaced BoG members with people of its choice. However, the removed members went to the court but decided to stay away, so those appointed by the caretakers continued with their positions. When the PTI came to power a third time in the province, it replaced BoGs with its own people. However, those shown the door obtained a stay order in their favour. Senior administrators at MTIs told Dawn that BoGs were voluntary and could work only if they’re appointed by the existing government. “BoGs are toothless as the government has stopped them from taking major decisions of appointments, procurements, promotions, and tender issuance, severely affecting medical teaching institutions,” an MTI director told Dawn. He said the lawyers attached with the ruling had mishandled the case as the Act declared that BoG members couldn’t appeal the chief minister’s order for their removal if no cause for the move was specified. The law says, “The CM shall appoint the members on recommendation of search and nomination council and they shall hold office for a period of three years or during the period of the pleasure of the CM whichever is earlier and shall be eligible for re-appointment. The members can challenge their removal only if they are accused of misconduct. No appeal shall lie in case service of any member of BoG is simply dispensed with, without any accusation or blame of misconduct and therefore, they cannot go to court because the members have not been blamed for any misconduct but have simply been removed by the chief minister as the law states.” An MTI medical director wondered how board members were clinging to their positions when they actually couldn’t do anything tangible. “BoGs can function only if they’ve the government’s support, so the honourable way-out for them is to resign and let MTIs work smoothly,”hesaid.