Body to probe private medical education

Senate committee questions PMDC's conduct

ISLAMABAD:

Senate Standing Committee on Health has announced that it will investigate those responsible for charging inflated fees at private medical colleges.

Questions were raised regarding the role of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).

PMDC President Rizwan Taj and former health secretary Iftikhar Shallwani have been summoned to the next committee meeting.

Furthermore, the committee has requested details of the fees and directed that the Private Medical Colleges Association be summoned.

Senator Palwasha Khan, convener of the committee, chaired a sub-committee meeting where she highlighted that the law clearly states that PMDC has the authority to control fees. She criticised private medical colleges, saying they are "looting children".

How can the annual fee of private medical colleges be up to Rs2.8 million per year? Khan expressed disappointment with PMDC, stating that it has "given birth to a mafia." She assured that additional fees collected from students in 2024 will be refunded.

Khan questioned the role of PMDC, asking, "What is PMDC doing?"

PMDC officials were left speechless when Senator Palwasha Khan questioned them. Senator Humayun Mohmand said that the drastic increase in fees from Rs0.8 million to Rs3.5 million is illegal.

He emphasised that a 300 per cent increase is unacceptable. Among them, many of our parliament members are doing business, he said. Senator Palwasha Khan continued to press the issue, asserting that charging exorbitant fees to children is a grave injustice.

She criticised private medical colleges, saying they have become a mafia.

She also questioned why the PMDC failed to refund the additional fees.

The PMDC registrar stated that private medical colleges are not categorised. Why were these additional fees of up to Rs0.9 million were not refunded? Upon this, the special secretary of health said that the fees collected by medical colleges are excessively high.

The registrar of the PMDC stated that private medical colleges have raised their fees independently.

In response, the registrar PMDC explained that education and services are treated separately, and compensation is collected from the use of services and machines.

The committee was informed of a Rs2.9 million fee increase at Hazrat Bari Sarkar (HBS) Medical College over two years.

The committee requested a detailed breakdown of the fees charged by the colleges. They instructed the secretary of the Ministry of Health to present all relevant records to the committee.

The committee has stated that colleges that have increased their fees by 10-15 per cent should also be investigated.

Parents and students who wish to voice their concerns about the fees have been encouraged to reach out.