PMDC bans fee collection by private medical & dental colleges

ISLAMABAD: In a recent educational development, The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has barred private medical and dental colleges from collecting fees.

The decision comes in line with the recommendation made by the Senate Committee to suspend the fee collation. The PMDC had forwarded a notice to the medical colleges and universities forbidding fee collections until further notice.

This prohibition will remain in place until the Medical Education Committee’s recommendations, chaired by Ishaq Dar, are submitted. Moreover, the constituted committee recently created by the Prime Minister will explore the general situation and scrutinize the standards and issues faced by especially private medical universities and private colleges.

It is noteworthy that private medical colleges have been engendering exorbitant fees, with some charging fees upwards of Rs15 million in five years.

The PMDC set the annual fees for private medical colleges at Rs500,000 with a five percent increase per year by a decision taken back in 2012; however, many institutions blatantly violated this rule.

Last year in July, the PMDC approached the health ministry and sought its legal suggestion to assess the issue and bring certain uniformity in terms of fees; however, even after six months, the problem remains unresolved.

At the same time, the PMDC had further asked the ministry to seek the advice of the Law and Justice Department within 15 days if the PMDC is to take a major decision, but it seems the ban on private medical colleges has set the issue now.

Moreover, the PMDC is planning to upgrade its online portal soon, which would decisively bring about more transparency and accountability in terms of fee collections. Thus this decision will be a progressive step toward reducing the very high fees with which students have had to contend.