PMDC told to inspect colleges without bias

IHC reserves judgment on plea filed by colleges

ISLAMABAD: The apex regulator of medical institutions in the country was on Friday told to inspect private medical colleges with honesty and without bias, even as the body was asked what will become of students studying in un-inspected colleges.

This was directed on Friday as a single-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), comprising Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzaib heard petitions filed by two private medical institutions over delays in their registration by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).

Ashtar Ausaf, the counsel for the private medical institutions who attended the hearing via video-link, criticised the council’s inspection methods, contended that even colleges which have been registered by the council did not fulfil its criteria. He added that hundreds of students have been enrolled in colleges run by his clients but the PMDC was not inspecting them to further their registration process.

At this, the court remarked that PMDC has revoked all the decisions made by the now-defunct PMC. He asked what will become of the hundreds of students who are studying in colleges registered by the PMC.

The court remarked that PMDC should carry out inspection honestly and in an unbiased manner and reserved its verdict.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2020.