KARACHI: Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuhu on Tuesday asked the heads of medical institutions in the province to start the admission process in the light of a provincial cabinet’s decision regarding the eligibility criteria of admission to medical and dental colleges.

Amid a deadlock between the provincial and federal governments over the eligibility criteria, Dr Pechuhu emphasised that the provincial government would resist moves by the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) through legal means.

She was chairing a meeting with the heads of private medical colleges and universities.

Talking to the participants, the minister said admission to medical colleges and universities in Sindh would be given on the basis of minimum 50 per cent pass percentage in MDCAT (medical and dental college admission test) and that the government would resist the PMC through legal means.

“Since a notification about the cabinet’s decision has already been issued, you can start the admission process. We will set up a Sindh medical and dental council and get it recognised from the WHO and other institutions,” she said.

The government was standing with medical colleges and would provide them with legal support if needed, she added.

The minister expressed the desire that maximum students would be enrolled in institutions and no medical seat would be left vacant.

“Candidates having Sindh’s domicile would be given preference in the admission process. In the next stage, preference would be given to students from Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and Balochistan,” she told the participants.

The meeting decided that a university from the public sector would be selected to oversee the admission process at private medical colleges and universities as well as deal with legal matters with respect to the PMC.

The meeting was informed that there were a total of 29 private medical institutions: 17 medical and 12 dental colleges.

The PMC, the national regulator for medical and dental education, had turned down the Sindh government’s request to reduce the minimum pass percentage from 65pc to 50pc for admission to MBBS/BDS courses in the province.

The PMC had warned that the commission would not register students who would get admission to institutions on the basis of less than 65pc marks in the MDCAT.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2021