Medical school admissions: Special quota at FJMC declared illegal

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday declared 67 seats reserved for the daughters of employees of public servants at the Fatima Jinnah Medical College (FJMC), Lahore, illegal with directions to fill the vacant seats through a competitive process.

The IHC Chief Justice, Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi, declared the special quota for the daughters of federal and provincial government officials for admissions to MBBS programme at the FJMC illegal.

The IHC chief justice said that vacant seats must be filled through a competitive process.

The order came in response to the petition of Dr Mohammad Aslam Khaki, wherein, he challenged admission of daughters of federal and provincial governments on 67 seats of MBBS programme through quota system.



In the petition, Khaki said that the FJMC offers admission on 267 seats in the first year of MBBS programme every year through competitive process and on a merit-based system.

He, however, said that the college administration over the years started conversion of seats from open merit to quota system, and at present the medical college is offering 67 seats to be filled through quota.

Khaki argued that the number of seats could be increased, if the college administration wanted to accommodate government officials but the conversion of merit-based seats into quota system was equal to depriving the qualified and eligible students from their lawful right. The court said that the currently-enrolled students should not be affected by the decision.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2016.