ISLAMABAD – No new medical colleges for three years as Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) stopped approval any new institution for next three years to ensure quality and to stop mushrooming.
Authorities made stern rules, citing faculty shortages and quality concerns. The announcement was made by PMDC President Dr. Rizwan Taj during a session of the Senate Standing Committee on National Health, chaired by Senator Aamir Waleeduddin.
The committee members were told that surge in number of medical colleges led to challenges in maintaining educational standards, specially due to shortage of qualified teaching staff. To ensure quality in medical education, we decided to stop opening of any new institutions for next three years.
Members also featured heated debate over proposed amendments to PMDC Act`1QWAW2 as Senator pushed for including lawmakers in PMDC board while others opposed idea, saying parliamentarians have never been part of PMDC board. Committee Chairman disputed this, saying lawmakers previously served as board members.
Some members raised concern over political interference in regulatory matters, saying democratic environment is not in line with politicians in PMDC board. The board must remain free from political pressure to function effectively.
Members further shed light on upcoming MDCAT 2025 test. It was revealed that entry test will now consist of 180 questions to be completed in three hours. This revision comes in response to parental concerns and issues reported during last year’s examination. A new pool of 10,000 multiple-choice questions is being prepared to avoid syllabus discrepancies.
