By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD - The recent notice for grading of institutions by Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) reference PID (1) 775/15 has graded colleges as category A and B. The category A colleges have been prompted to increase annual tuition fees by seven per cent for the students getting admission to private medical and dental colleges, thus making it beyond the reach of a common man.
These decisions were taken in the 139th session of the council held recently. In a public notice PMDC set mandatory grading requirements. They decided to categorize the recognized Medical & Dental Colleges as A & B. Medical Colleges who have made the list are the ones with 500 bedded own Teaching Hospital, latest treatment facility including MRI & CT Scan and a Nursing College.
All others who lack the aforementioned facilities are placed in category B. The meeting also decided that to let category A Private Sector Medical and Dental colleges raise their fees to Rs. 700.000.
As for the standalone Dental Colleges the ones with 60 bedded own teaching hospital have been graded as category A with liberty to increase the fee. The council after reviewing its 2013 regulations directed the colleges to implement the new fees from 2015-16 sessions onwards. This will affect more than 6000 students across Pakistan but who cares.
“No medical and dental institution training for MBBS/BDS in the private sector shall charge tuition fee more than 600,000 per annum per student,” the 2013 regulations read.
Interestingly one of the oldest private dental college in Sindh which until recently was marked in red with admissions stopped has now been graded as category A. Sources told Dental News that the letter issued to them by PM&DC has also been retracted stating that it was sent inadvertently.
With this decision it is expected that the tuition fees to the tune of Rs100,000will be increased per student for category ‘A’ private colleges. Similarly, category ‘B’ colleges would charge each student Rs42,000 as incremental annual tuition fees.
Students reacted to the development with anger and shock, in a recent statement by the Pakistan Medical Student Council (PMSC) they referred to PMDC as “private medical and dental council”.
PM&DC is silent on payments other than tuition fee like students pay university examination fees, taxes, hostel fees, transport fees and the one-time admission fee under the PMDC regulations. Some private colleges are charging Rs 200,000 as non-refundable admission fees and there is no stopping.
PMDC Registrar has categorically said that the council had increased the tuition fees to facilitate those medical and dental colleges which showed good performance. It seems no Public sector medical or dental college came upto the standards of PM&DC as none of them were rewarded.