LAHORE: The first merit list of MBBS and BDS candidates for private institutions will be displayed on Dec 1 in line with the revised policy of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).
`The government will implement in letter and spirit the PMDC 2016 policy regarding admission to private medical and dental colleges through the University of Health Sciences (UHS),` Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department Secretary Najam Ahmad Shah said at a press confer-ence after presiding over a meeting of the Provincial Admission Committee here on Monday.
He said all committee members attended the meeting and condemned all such medical and dental colleges which were trying to misguide the students and their parents by openly violating the merit policy.
`This is creating a bad name for medical profession. The admission committee will also send its recommendations to the PMDC for taking legal action against such colleges, said the secretary.
Mr Shah said the Lahore High Court had on Nov 11 issued an interim order. However, the honorable court had on Nov 18 suspended its previous order with retrospective effect and clarified that the order would be applicable only to those students who had appeared in SAT-H.
PMDC representative Dr Aamir Bandesha said the Council`s 146th meeting held on Nov 19 in Islamabad appreciated the Punjab government`s initiatives for ensuring transparent and merit-based admissions to medical and dental colleges.
He said the PMDC had informed all the medical universities or colleges that no admission against the merit policy would be acceptable.
`We have conveyed to the private institutions that any student enrolled in violation of PMDC regulations 2016 would neither be registered by the UHS nor the PMDC, he said while quoting from a letter of the PMDC dated Nov 19.
UHS pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Junaid Sarf raz Khan said the admissions of students already enrolled by private medical and dental colleges would be void.
The process to admit students for MBBS and BDS courses in private institutions would begin on Dec 1 when the first merit list would be displayed. All students would be admitted to private medical anddental colleges in Punjab according to the revised PMDC policy, said Prof Khan.
He said at least 6,544 students had applied for the admission to private medical and dental colleges in accordance with the new admission policy.
He said the date of submitting forms had been extended up to Nov 22 to facilitate such students who wanted to apply for the admission.
The provincial admission committee has asked the parents and students not to approach any private medical and dental college for the admission and contact with UHS, Nishtar Medical College, Multan, and Rawalpindi Medical College for submitting admission forms according to the centralised admission policy.
These admission forms can be downloaded from the website of the University of Health Sciences www.
uhs.edu.pk.
