Students seeking admission to medical colleges were faced with a dilemma as the deadline for applications to public sector universities looms large, while the fate of many “controversial” private medical colleges remained undecided, Pakistan Today has learnt. As many as 33,703 candidates appeared in the medical entry test this year competing for 5,271 seats in 40 public and private medical and dental colleges across the province. Nearly 3,500 seats are available in 15 medical and 3 dental colleges in the public sector, while 1,850 seats are available in the private medical and dental colleges. The University of Health Science – the exam conducting authority –set the deadline for applications for October15, while the final list would be displayed on October30.
This implies that the top 3,000 candidates would be able to secure admissions in public medical colleges, leaving thousands at the mercy of private medical colleges. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif recently initiated action against three private medical colleges; University College of Medicine and Dentistry, Amna Inayat Medical College and Azra Naheed Medical College over various irregularities. However, they have challenged the Lahore High Court’s decision and a verdict is yet to be delivered.
As per the rules laid down by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), the UHS can only conduct the entry test and has no hand in admissions to private medical colleges, which is considered “de facto nationalisation”. The PMDC 2010 regulations further said the private medical colleges could neither display their merit lists nor demand any dues before the display of the selection list for government medical and dental colleges by the.
However, sources revealed that all private medical colleges, including the “controversial” ones, have been openly advertising their admissions. They said nearly 3,000 students with percentages ranging between 80 and 81 were on the borderline and were “exploited” by private medical colleges who had already secured advanced-booking from students to “secure” their seats in case they did not get admissions in public medical colleges. “The minimum fee for the prospectus at a private medical college is Rs 3,000, while they charge Rs 2,000 for interview…if a student secures admission in a public medical college, they deduct the admission fee amounting in thousands of rupees and hence earn millions every year only through the admissions procedure,” sources added.
This has created a lot of “confusion” among the candidates and their parents, as while the CM initiated action against these medical colleges; PMDC and those colleges themselves have been openly giving ads for admissions.
Munawar Hassan, father of a candidate applying for admission, said, “The government should make clear the status of controversial medical colleges, as we get to read about action against them one day, and see their ad in the same newspaper the next day…then we have also submitted dues in a private medical college to secure admission, as my daughter’s merit is 81.89 percent and we are uncertain if she will be able to get admission in a public medical college…parents have little idea about such complexities especially when an establishment is openly operating and advertising admissions.”
The private vs public medical university dilemma
