Medical education: Credit transfer from abroad criticised

PMA says policy will benefit rich students who fall short of merit.

LAHORE: The Pakistan Medical Association has protested against the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s decision to allow Pakistanis studying in third year of their bachelors of medicine (MBBS) abroad to transfer their credits and continue studies at public sector medical colleges in Pakistan.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the PMA members said the move was meant to favour children of affluent and influential people who had failed to get admissions in public sector colleges on merit. The PMA said with several seats allocated for transfer students the move would end up keeping out students who would otherwise be eligible for admission and a medical education.

“The decision will damage the medical education and healthcare system of the country,” the PMA added.

PMA leaders Dr Tanveer Anwar, Dr Izhar Chaudhry, Dr Shahid Malik, Dr Kamran Sheikh, Dr Sabahat Habib and Dr Salman Kazmi said if the decision was not revoked the PMA would take the council to the court. They also appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan to direct the council to cancel the decision.

They alleged that the PMDC had lately become a front for provate medical colleges. “It should be renamed to Private Medical and Dental Council,” the statement said.

It added that the council had already permitted a large number of Pakistanis studying in Central Asian countries and China to transfer their credits to Pakistani medical colleges.

It said the PMDC council was pressured by the administration into adopting the proposal in its 118th annual meeting. j “The council had criticised the proposal during its 117th meeting,” it added. It said the meeting in which the proposal was adopted by the PMDC was not attended by any of its members from the Punjab.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th,  2011.