ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has decided to call meetings of the council and the executive council with a one point agenda, a centralised test and merit list for medical colleges, due to the reluctance of private colleges in the city to follow the proposal.
Because of the lack of support from private institutions, it seems unlikely that admissions will be made according to a centralised merit list. Private colleges have started advertising admissions.
PMDC President Dr Shabbir Lehri said all the stakeholders had agreed on a centralised merit list during a meeting last month, and it was strange that they were expressing concerns now.
Meetings will discuss private colleges’ complaints regarding a centralised admissions test, singular merit list
“Because of the sensitivity of the issue, emergency meetings have been called and hopefully the council will address the issue with collective wisdom,” he said.
Last month, the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) decided on a centralised test for all medical and dental colleges in the federal capital, as well as one merit list for public and private medical colleges in order to prevent corrupt behaviour.
The decision was made during a meeting on a uniform admission policy chaired by NHS Minister Saira Afzal Tarar, attended by vice chancellors of federal chartered universities and principals of public and private medical and dental colleges.
The meeting had decided that a public sector university would hold a centralised test for all medical and dental colleges, and a singular merit list would make it eaiser to ensure that candidates are not admitted to institutions in violation of merit.
On August 26, the NHS ministry issued a notification, available with Dawn, that constituted a Federal Examination and Admission Committee to carry out the aforementioned centralised test.
The committee is chaired by the NHS ministry director general and includes representatives from the PMDC, the Higher Education Commission and principals of medical colleges that will oversee the entire admissions process.
However, an official from a private college said several concerns had rendered the new mechanism unacceptable to private colleges.
There are six private and one public sector medical colleges in Islamabad.
“There is no big difference between Rawalpindi and Islamabad, so separate rules should not be introduced for both cities. It was proposed that the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University would hold the centralised test, as some private universities are chartered university so they can admit their students. It seems strange that one university will admit students for another university,” he said.
“One formula should be introduced all over the country instead of just in one city,” he added. “Another issue is that we just have a month to complete admissions. For the centralised test, there should be a question bank and many other requirements. Currently, knowledge-based tests have been suggested, but some colleges prefer aptitude tests for admissions.”
“In addition, 80pc of students in colleges in the federal capital get admission from outside the capital, such as Fata. So an arrangement has to be made to hold exams in all the provinces, Fata, Gilgit-Baltistan, but there is no such arrangement,” he said.
“There is no criterion for what happens if 100 students are referred to a college and some don’t get admission. How will more students be referred to colleges, and if a student leaves during the session, how will the vacant seat be filled?”
Dr Lehri said he agreed with some of the complaints put forward by private institutions.
“The time period is very short,” he admitted. “We have called emergency meetings of the executive council and the council on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, to address the matter,” he said.
“We don’t want to close down the colleges or reduce their business, so those kinds of issues will be addressed and discussed during the meetings.”
