After a delay of two years, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has finally started implementing the act of parliament imposing an annual registration fee on 131 public and private sector medical colleges in the country.
This will not only ensure quality of education but also earn the council Rs31.5 million annually.
The bill was passed in 2012, but could not be implemented. Now, the college will have to pay the registration fee of the previous years as well, otherwise they will not be allowed to admit more students, Dawn has learnt.
By introducing this method of annual registration, quality of education will be ensured because the registration can be cancelled if an institution does not meet the standards of the council. Moreover, this will also generate revenue for the council.
Registrar PMDC Dr Amjad Mehmood, while talking to Dawn, said the act was passed by the parliament in January 2012 due to which it was now mandatory to collect registration fee from the colleges.
“As per the rules, all recognised institutions shall be allotted a registration number by the council on payment of the annual fee. The council decided that the registration fee for private medical and dental colleges will be Rs300,000, while Rs200,000 will be charged from public medical and dental colleges,” he said.
“This system should have begun in 2012, but it is unfortunate that no one paid attention to this important decision. There are 78 public sector and 53 private medical colleges, but the council did not bother to receive the registration fee,” he said.
“Last month, the council decided to implement the act of the parliament, due to which as many as 60 colleges deposited the registration fee. However, 71 colleges have not given any response,” he said.
“Registration numbers will be mandatory for all the medical and dental colleges. In future, all correspondence with the medical and dental colleges will be done with reference to their registration numbers,” he said.
Dr Amjad further warned the parents of the students studying or intending to study medicine or dentistry to check the PMDC website for latest information regarding recognised and registered colleges, along with their seat allocations, before admitting their children.
“At the moment Pak Red Crescent Medical and Dental College Lahore, Mohiuddin Islamic Medical College Mirpur (AJK), Independent Medical College Faisalabad, Women Medical College Abbottabad, Abbottabad International Medical College Abbottabad, Mohammad Bin Qasim Dental and Medical College Karachi, Bhattai Medical and Dental College Mirpurkhas Sindh, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Medical College Mirpur (AJK) and AJK Medical College Muzaffarabad have been stopped from further admissions due to lack of facilities,” he said.
“The council has recommended closing down three medical colleges – Hashmat Medical and Dental College Gujrat, Al-Razi Medical College Peshawar and Sahiwal Medical College, Sahiwal – because they failed to meet the standards of PMDC,” Dr Amjad said.
Source: Dawn
