Health panel presses ministry on results-driven procedures

ISLAMABAD:

A Senate health panel on Monday stressed that regulatory box-ticking must translate into real-world outcomes.

The Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination met under the chairmanship of Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani to examine key policy, regulatory and service delivery challenges.

Members appreciated the continued engagement of the minister for NHSR&C and stressed that the committee's role was to provide constructive input for systemic improvement rather than criticism.

While reviewing the implementation status of earlier recommendations, the committee deliberated over issues related to medical and dental college admissions, including the validity period of MDCAT results, seat switching and the growing number of vacant seats.

The minister for NHSR&C informed the committee that amendments to PMDC bylaws were being proposed, including addressing the three-year validity issue and restricting seat switching, to ensure admissions were drawn from the current examination cycle.

Members expressed concern that vacant seats, particularly in dental colleges, continued to remain unfilled.

Vice chancellors of various universities pointed out that frequent seat switching resulted in wastage of academic years and adversely affected medical and dental institutions. The chairman recalled that the committee had earlier allowed time for consultation with vice chancellors and sought detailed data on how many seats had remained vacant over recent years due to the extended validity period.

The committee noted provincial variations, including Balochistan's waiting-list-based admissions mechanism and Islamabad's upgradation process limited to first-year students.

Observing that legislative amendments would be required to permanently resolve seat switching and validity issues, the chairman directed the ministry to consult the Ministry of Law and Justice and submit guidance within one week of interim measures for current-year students.