Future of 450 students of dental colleges at risk

Two medical universities failed to register with PMDC, leaving students in a fix

SUKKUR: The future of 450 students of Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College (GMMMC), Sukkur and Bibi Aseefa Dental College (BADC), Larkana is uncertain, as the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has refused to register the two institutes.

On Monday, BADC students boycotted classes and staged a demonstration against the council as well as the management of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SBBMU), Larkana.

Since its establishment in 2012, BADC has been run without being registered with the PMDC, due to which 250 students studying at the college are facing difficulties. During a recent visit to Larkana, Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met students and assured them that he would resolve the matter but the issue persists.

The students told reporters that it was the management's duty to get the college registered with the regulatory body before offering admissions. They lamented the fact that they had almost completed their education and were just being informed that the institute was not registered.

SBBMU vice-chancellor Professor Ghulam Asghar Channa met the protesting students and assured them that he would cooperate with them. He added that a letter has already been sent to the PMDC about visiting the college regarding registration and was hopeful that the process would be completed soon.

SBBMU spokesperson Abdul Samad Bhatti told The Express Tribune that the then management of the college established the dental college in a hurry, without even thinking about its registration. According to him, this first batch of around 250 students is suffering due to the wrong policies of the former management.

He said that a PMDC team had visited the college in 2015 and refused to register it as they found the medical equipment insufficient, along with the number of faculty members. "There are certain rules of the PMDC according to which students are fined because they belonged to an unregistered college," he explained. As the students are not at fault, the college will pay the fine on their behalf and this problem will be sorted out shortly, he asserted.

Similarly, due to lack of faculty and other facilities, in 2014 the PMDC had directed the GMMMC administration to stop fresh admissions but the administration refused to comply with this directive and kept the admissions open. Resultantly, the PMDC is not ready to recognise 200 GMMMC students from two batches.

GMMMC principal Dr Ghulam Haider Rind said that during its last visit in 2015, the PMDC team had noted the lack of equipment and beds at the teaching hospital, along with the shortage of faculty. "Now we have fulfilled all the requirements and I have written a letter to the PMDC requesting a fresh visit," he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2016.