DERA GHAZI KHAN: Punjab Health Minister Javed Akram says the girls were in majority in medical graduates but after getting their degrees, only nine percent of them join the profession of medicine while the rest stay home due to various reasons, including social norms and marriage.

He urged the parents of the girl graduates to play their role in getting assurance from the in-laws of their daughters that they would be allowed to do government jobs or medical practice after marriage.

Besides, he suggested to the government to make the medical female graduates bound to serve at the public sector medical facilities in return of the expenses incurred by the government on each medical graduate.

He was speaking at the second convocation of the Ghazi Medical College (GMC), Dera Ghazi Khan, where more than 400 graduates received their degrees and medals on Monday.

Twelve students, majority of them girls, won medals in various disciplines and received their degrees.

The high achievers included Dr Syeda Hafza Gilani and Dr Siddiga who got 23 medals each while Dr Sana received 21 medalsin various disciplines.

GMC Principal Prof Dr Asif Quraishi recalled the short history of the college established in 2010. He said the first classes of the college were held at the Quaid-i-Azam Medical College Bahawalpur while the classes on the GMC campus started in 2012.

He said six operating theatreshad been established at the teaching hospital of the college but it needed an auditorium.

After attending the convocation, the health minister inaugurated the first outpatient department (OPD) of the newly-established Fateh Muhammad Buzdar Institute of Cardiology, Dera GhaziKhan.