KARACHI:
In Pakistan, the field of medicine is one of the most common choices among students as it is considered prestigious. Resultantly, each year, thousands of candidates undertake the MDCAT exam to pursue a medical degree. Some students achieve the required results and gain admission on merit whilst others resort to pursuing their degree privately. Consequently, there is an excess supply of doctors and dentists with limited vacancies.
Many medical graduates fail to find jobs after graduating leaving them with no choice but to settle for whatever opportunity they get. With little to no money, the graduates cannot pursue a post-graduate fellowship either leaving them in a difficult position. Our society must collectively abandon the idea that only the medical field is a prestigious and professional one. Otherwise, our younger generations will continue falling into this trap and fail to utilise their real potential.
This is also one of the reasons why Pakistan is lagging in development and progress as people are not interested in or willing to pursue different disciplines and subjects. Around the world, newer fields are emerging such as artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, etc. But we are still stuck in the medical versus engineering dilemma. It is high time that parents and students realise that the world is moving beyond the traditional fields. Educational institutes must introduce information technology, graphic designing, digital marketing, and other courses to encourage students to pursue degrees in them. We cannot continue wasting our potential and resources on the same old fields when they are not bringing any change or development.
Hira Nazir
Lahore
Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2022.
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