Sindh to have its own medical council

The Sindh government announced on Tuesday the establishment of the Sindh Medical and Dental Council (SMDC), likely leading to a further delay in Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) entrance examinations at the province's medical and dental colleges.

To set up the provincial council, the Sindh government has drafted a bill and sent to the law department for vetting and it will be presented in the Sindh Assembly for approval within the next three months, it has been reported.

The body will be responsible for monitoring the running of medical and dental colleges in the province, as well as admissions at these educational institutes.

Confirming these developments, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazl Pechuho said the Sindh government had informed the Centre about its reservation on the dissolution of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and the constitution of Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) as a replacement.

Complaining that no heed was paid to the provincial government's reservations, she said that the Sindh government had gone ahead with setting up its own medical and dental council.

According to her, it is not just the Sindh government that has reservations over the dissolution of PMDC, but other provinces were also skeptical about the development.

Reiterating these grievances, the provincial health minister's spokesperson told The Express Tribune that the Sindh government had decided to set up a provincial medical and dental council, along the lines of the provincial higher education commission.

Pechuho had first announced the formation of the provincial medical and dental council in December last year.

She criticised the federal government for dissolving the PMDC and said the Sindh government aimed to set up a separate body in the province to "rid it of the dilemma inflicted by the Centre."

Earlier this month, she opposed the Pakistan Medical Commission bill recently passed in a joint session of the parliament, claiming that it will adversely affect the smaller provinces.

Around 5,000 doctors graduate in Sindh every year which is still not enough to meet the province's needs, according to Dr Pechuho. Only half of these graduate from public sector universities, which will be allowed to retain the provincial domicile policy, she said.

According to the minister, the private sector will no longer be restricted under this legislation and private seats in Sindh will be filled by students of other provinces, mainly Punjab. "These students will then go back to their home province, resulting in a shortage of doctors in Sindh," she opined.

She raised further objections on grounds that this legislation notified the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT), which will be designed by the Centre based on the federal curriculum whereas each province has its own board and curriculum.

Earlier this month, various associations of doctors in Sindh had also called for revocation of the PMC bill and demanded that the PMDC be restored. Government doctors had held protests throughout the week calling for this and other demands, some of which were met on Tuesday.

In October 2019, the PMDC - a statutory regulatory authority that oversees medical and dental colleges in Pakistan since 1962 - was dissolved following a presidential ordinance. It was replaced by the PMC after a powerful lobby realised it could not achieve its goals through the PMDC.

Later, the Islamabad High Court restored the PMDC and declared the formation of PMC - a body formed through a presidential ordinance in its place - as illegal in February, 2020.

However, the recently passed Pakistan Medical Commission bill will lead to the replacement of the PMDC by the PMC.

Students in jeopardy

The Sindh government's decision to set up its own provincial and dental council has left prospective medical students in jeopardy, given that the move will likely further delay MBBS entrance exams in the province.

The entry test for admissions to the province's medical and dental colleges of the province were to be held on October 18, but the Sindh High Court had refrained the Sindh government from holding the exams.

The directive was issued in a plea stating that discrepancies between the Sindh and federal government's policies on the MBBS admission test had left students perplexed and worried. During the initial hearing, the petitioner's council had pointed out that the Sindh and federal government had issued separate dates for the tests, and while the latter had announced a syllabus for the exam, the former had not released any details in connection with the entrance exam. The counsel attributed the discrepancies in the MBBS admission policies of the Sindh and the Centre to the dissolution of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.

Amid the fiasco, students were left perplexed and worried, he told the court.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2020.