KP moves PMDC over medical, dental colleges seat issue 

PESHAWAR: Former Justice Arshad Hussain Shah, the Caretaker Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), has announced that he has raised the matter of increasing seats in the medical and dental colleges in the province with the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC), indicating that the council tentatively agreed to the proposal, subject to the fulfillment of criteria.

A meeting chaired by the CM discussed the expansion of seats in both public and private sector medical and dental colleges in the province. The meeting included CM’s health advisor Dr Riaz Anwar, and representatives from public and private sector medical and dental colleges.

During the briefing, the current seat capacity of dental and medical colleges was highlighted, revealing a total of 21 medical and 11 dental colleges in the province offer a combined annual capacity of 3,210 seats. Due to this limited capacity, numerous qualified students are unable to secure admissions in these institutions each year.

Both public and private sector medical and dental colleges were urged to evaluate their capacities for seat expansion and convey this information to the provincial government for further consideration by PMDC for formal approval. It was emphasized that any expansion must adhere to established criteria to uphold the quality of education.

Meeting participants commended the CM's efforts to expand medical and dental seats, terming it a valuable contribution to the province's medical field.

They also agreed that 20 percent of the additional seats would be reserved for financially disadvantaged students through scholarships.