ISLAMABAD, Dec 9: Admission to Federal Medical and Dental College (FMDC) in Islamabad would be given on ‘merit’ and according to provincial quota as reserved under the constitution.

Few seats would also be reserved for the federal government employees and domicile holders of Islamabad Capital Territory.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has recently approved establishment of the first FMDC in public sector in the capital.

The medical college is affiliated with Quaid-i-Azam University. The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) will be the main attached hospital of the college.Principal of FMDC, Prof Mehmood Jamal told Dawn: “The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council has approved fifty seats for the college”.

The fifty seats would be distributed among the medical students holding domicile from all the four provinces and federal government employees including domicile holder students of ICT.

All the students will be selected purely on merit and by the National Testing Service which has recently conducted tests of medical colleges of Sindh and Balochistan.”

He said that they had outsourced the written exams to maintain a better selection criterion for the students.

Prof Jamal said that FMDC had already circulated an advertisement in the national dailies and December 17 was the last date for submission of application.

To a question, Prof Jamal said: “We will soon launch our website but at the moment our focus is on selecting brilliant students for MBBS course.”

Regarding the faculty he said: “the FMDC will have over hundred faculty members from basic medical sciences and clinical faculty of Pims. Besides, we have recently hired sufficient number of experienced faculty members for FMDC.”

He said: “Professors, associate professors, assistant professors and demonstrators having experience in the teaching of anatomy, biochemistry, forensic medicines and other subjects related to basic sciences were all on board for the smooth operations of the medical college.”