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Cuba has in the past been a good friend to Pakistan, and many who suffered in the earthquake of 2005 will remember the Cuban medical teams who gave unstintingly of their services – staying long after others had packed up and gone back whence they came. As a part of post-quake support Cuba, through the Higher Education Commission, offered 1,000 scholarships to students who wanted to train as doctors. The course which was supposed to last six years in fact lasts seven and leads to a qualification recognised by the WHO as appropriate for a paramedic but not a fully-qualified doctor. The students will receive a certificate of Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) which is not recognised by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). The HEC initially agreed to pay the students in Cuba a stipend of $100 per month but is only paying them $50. The campus on which the students are taking their course is poorly equipped, students should have started their third year of study on January 17 but are currently on strike until a range of issues are resolved.
Our ambassador to Cuba was first made aware of potential difficulties associated with the students – now numbering 932 – in early 2008 as was the HEC. The HEC and the PMDC paid a visit to Cuba, made promises relating to the transfer of students to ‘leading colleges’ but never kept them, and the Cuban authorities are maintaining that the Pakistan side knew exactly what was on offer before the first student arrived in the country. Or not? It transpires that the HEC did not send a delegation to Cuba to validate the course before sending the first batch of students – and if it had done what would seem to be an essential prerequisite, the situation would not have deteriorated to the point at which it is at today. It would have been clear from the outset that the course fell below the requirements of the PMDC and either adjustment would have been made with the Cubans, or failing that the offer of scholarships should not have been proceeded with at all. As usual, all and sundry are denying that any part of this particular mess is owned by them. There are almost 1,000 young Pakistani men and women on the other side of the world with little money, little prospect of an early resolution to their difficulties and a mostly-useless piece of paper at the end of their studies. What began as a goodwill gesture by the Cubans has turned into something close to a diplomatic ‘incident’ that could sadly sour ties with a friendly country. |
Mohammed Abbasi 