Baqai Medical University

Region: Karachi Country: Pakistan

About The University
The Baqais( Dr.Fareed Uddin Baqai and Dr.Zahida Baqai) both medical practitioners and surgeons by profession, after completing their medical education in Pakistan and Great Britain, started practicing the art of healing in an underdeveloped country and in a fast growing city of Karachi, the then capital of Pakistan. The enormity and complexity of health care problems and the paucity of proper infrastructures for health care delivery systems motivated them to develop a comprehensive concept of community development on the basis of self reliance and without depending upon the public sector financing. The concept started unfolding itself in concrete actions when the Baqai Foundation acquired a large piece of land on Super Highway just at the outskirts of Karachi and established the first ever rural Medical Centre supported by secondary and tertiary health care facilities in 1976.

Founder Messages
My vision is a University Town in place of GADAP, having been developed around BAQAI MEDICAL UNIVERSITY like Oxford & Cambridge in England, Logan around UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY and the ALIGARH of Indo-Pak sub- Continent. This town of Education and Learning may have many many Colleges of ARTS and SCIENCE besides Universities, belonging to Public FINANCE basis. The government supporting and patronizing these Projects without any financial obligation.

The Community having comprehensive Health Care to 100% population based on BAQAI'S Model of health Care Delivery, Health and Medical Education inclusive of PREVENTIVE Health. A child of the town to be able to say " I have a doctor of my own too".
The women status raised economically, educationally, health-wise and Socially through SOCIAL OBSTETRICS. All this being achieved by the Community through community participation at all levels, with complete autonomy at local level having no central bureaucratic control.

HISTORY
There is an inner urge in certain human beings to play their part in the developmental activities of the place or city around them. Having made a choice of Medical to be their profession and graduating in this field, visionary and sensitive individuals, Dr. F.U. Baqai and Dr. Zahida Baqai, fired with the passion for human welfare and social service started with a modest beginning by setting up a hospital complex in private sector at Nazimabad in late sixties of the previous century. Soon this hospital complex developed into a 350-bedded general hospital with modern sophisticated treatment for the middle-income group of private patients. A part of the job was done on charity basis. This proved to be a successful venture and Baqai Hospital Nazimabad became a centre of excellence.

Vision
My vision is a University Town in place of GADAP, having been developed around BAQAI MEDICAL UNIVERSITY like Oxford & Cambridge in England, Logan around UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY and the ALIGARH of Indo-Pak sub-Continent. This town of Education and Learning may have many many Colleges of ARTS and SCIENCES besides Universities, belonging to Public and Private Sectors alike. All this being developed on SELF-HELP and SELF FINANCE basis. The Government supporting and patronizing these Projects without any financial obligation.

The Community having comprehensive Health Care to 100% population based on BAQAI'S Model of health Care Delivery, Health and Medical Education inclusive of PREVENTIVE Health. A child of the town to be able to say "I have a doctor of my own too".

The women's status raised economically, educationally, health-wise and Socially through SOCIAL OBSTETRICS. All this being achieved by the Community through community participation at all levels, with complete autonomy at local level having no central bureaucratic control.

Further development in this field has come with the realization that the U.N. Millenium Development Goals are the object of the modern medical professionals. This includes not only technical training in medicine but also education of the general public and above all prevention of disease which is duly more cost effective and beneficial to the whole population rather than management of terminal diseases in individuals such as renal and heart transplantation. Community orientation has evolved into community dependence as without patients there would be no doctors. In this respect Baqai Medical University has been directed towards the Millenium Development goals for twenty years, long before the UN's realization.

Modern Medicine, despite globalization, is evolving in a society-linked manner. In North America this is expensive, technological and litigation conscious whereas in Europe, it is evolving into another social service and a job rather than a profession. In Pakistan with its double disease load of deprived, largely rural people combined with the diseases of comfort of the developed world. The requirement is for better doctors than elsewhere although utilizing the best of other world cultures and sciences.

The 21st century has added further pressures and needs to medical education. High quality information is doubling every 3 years. The genomic revolution has shown that all diseases have an individual genetic predisposition which is expressed by interaction with the environment, largely nutrition. This has been a great advantage of allowing prevention. Finally, systems biology development has reminded us family that the whole patient needs to be beated and that the proliferation of super spectacular to deal with increased knowledge requires a very firm lose in understanding and treating the whole patient.

Societal changes also dictate its methods into medical teaching and practice. Baqai has responded by founding an institute of Information Technology which interacts with the university at all levels.

In a similar manner, the importance of economy and financial matters in modern life has led to the development of an institute of Business Administration.

Mission

To provide quality education comparable to international standards to its students so that they can acquire the state of art knowledge of subjects for which they otherwise would have to go abroad to internationally known seats of learning.
To provide educational programs in accordance with the actual needs of the society both in Pakistan and in the neighboring world.
To develop a wholesome and broad based personality of its students inculcating in them a sense of moral and social responsibility.
To achieve the above objectives :
The admission to Baqai Medical University are controlled strictly, Merit is the only criterion for admission. No quotas, reserve seats or donation seats are allowed for seeking admission to the University. Entrance tests, interviews and scholastic records are important constituents of determining the merit of a student.
Baqai Medical University ensures a highly qualified faculty keeping in view the international academic standards. The university has a permanent continuing education program through its Centre for Medical Education. University as an incentive also provides subsidies and scholarships for the teaching faculty as an encouragement to go abroad for higher education, professional seminars and conferences. An intensive evaluation program constantly provides a criterion for the faculty to prove its worth.
Baqai Medical University also keeps in view the normative needs of the society. Provisions of inter disciplinary courses and practical involvement of faculty and students in community work ensures an overall and altruistic development of the personality of a university graduate.

BAQAI FOUNDATION RESUME' OF ACTIVITIES SINC
Established in 1976 BAQAI FOUNDATION (BF) is the supreme policy making body. Baqai Foundation is responsible to monitor and provide help and guidance to pur sue the various projects completed or in the pipeline.

The percep tion gives credence to what Prof. Dr. F.U. Baqai, stated in an interview over a decade ago. He said, "We consider our earnings a TRUST. A part of it is certainly ours to meet our both ends. The rest of it belongs to those who gave us in terms of med ical treatment". A noble thought no doubt; but how to give it a con crete, practical shape? For this the Baqais went on developing strate gies and came to a firm conclusion that work should begin for primarily two problems in the health section:
a) Promote health awareness among community.
b) Supplement the most inadequate and miserable basic health facilities.

Fahmi Health Education Centre was established in 1980. The centre organized, seminars and Patient-Doctor dialogues involving as many audience as possible. The centre also has a monthly Urdu magazine to highlight the of health with particular emphasis on the prevention side. The Centre is at present provid ing medical/ consultation and treatment to patients with various ail ments, social sector.

For establishment of a Medical Complex in the Private Sector, the Baqais purchased a piece of 70 acres land some 15 miles away from Karachi city near toll plaza, on open market price withtheir savings.

The foundation stone of the Complex was laid by Hazrat Shahidullah Faridi, a out standing religious scholar, on the 27th Ramzan (Jummatul Mubarik) of the holy month of Ramazan in 1976. A barren, desolated desert suddenly came to life. The construction work was taken up in phases took considerable time due to complete absence of utility services. No water, No electricity, No gas, No telephone facilities. However, in 1985 first building was ready to house the proposed Medical College with its basic complements.

It was in 1976, that the idea of having a Medical College in Private Sector came up for discussion in the annual dinner of the Association of Private Hospitals, Clinics and Nursing Homes in Karachi in the presence of Senior Medical Practitioners, Politicians and Journalists. A Medical College in Private Sector was established in Pakistan.

By now, over dozens medical and educational institutes have blossomed forth under the aegies of Baqai Foundation, which are rendering valuable services to the community.

Baqai Foundation which started its journey in a shack, now is a owner of 80 acres of the land which has assets to the tune of Rs. 1,100,000,000. One Thousand One Hundred Million.

Degrees of Baqai University are recognized by all prominent universities of the world. Institutions of Baqai Foundation have produced some of the best students who have proved their mettle in foreign universities. Baqai Foundation wishes to open new vistas of thought to achieve its ambition. It has decided to establish an Educational Channel for the benefit of student community. Foundation's journey in quest of new frontiers of education, health and income generation has brought honour and glory to the nation, the best example is city of Shehar-e-Baqa (City of Health & Education). This will require the some committment to relatively small beginings followed by rapid as at gadap.

Some unique features of Baqai Foundation's institutions' are integrated and community based & community oriented medical education. How much Foundation values female education can be gauged from the fact that more then 60% of the university students are females. Baqai Foundation is committed to provide better health care delivery, medical education and various skills for cottage industry specially among women.

Baqai University's integrated system of education, community based curriculum has captured the imagination of many abroad. Foreign Governments and Educational Institutions sought university's expertise and experience in setting up medical colleges and hospitals in their countries after Baqai pattern.