PMC cancels unfilled enhanced seats quota

Decision taken owing to repeated failures to comply with directions

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) has cancelled the unfilled enhanced seats for various quotas and directed that no admissions from these seats will be registered with the commission. According to PMC, 594 enhanced seats across 33 public colleges were required to be filled and their admissions finalised by March 22, 2021.

The decision was taken owing to repeated failures to comply with the directions to submit the list of admitted students on the 594 enhanced seats to accommodate them for various quotas, especially the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Scholarship Program for FATA and Balochistan.

This deadline was further extended to March 22, the notification of which was sent to all provincial chief secretaries via a letter dated March 3, 2021. Upon further non-compliance, all relevant authorities were notified on March 29, 2021 that the final deadline for submission of lists was April 5, 2021.

Meanwhile, the PMC was informed by the HEC that the provincial governments had still not processed the allocation of seats for the HEC Scholarship Program.

According to PMC officials, 15 seats were enhanced in three public colleges in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 240 seats were enhanced in 15 public colleges in Punjab, 240 seats were enhanced in 11 public colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and eight seats were enhanced for NUMS in two colleges to accommodate various quota seats with priority given to the HEC Scholarship Program for FATA and Balochistan.

In Balochistan, 91 seats were enhanced in two public colleges to accommodate the province's requirements. According to Section 18(3) of the PMC Act 2021, the provincial government has the exclusive authority to allocate all the seats available in its public colleges to any quota (funded or nonfunded) or self-finance basis for purposes of admissions which are also carried out by the provincial government directly.

The PMC permitted enhancement of seats on the basis of meeting the enhancement criteria and with the understanding that these seats were to be filled with students from various quotas, especially FATA and Balochistan who fall under the HEC Scholarship Programme.