Why are substandard medical universities being approved, ask doctors

These institutions don’t have the faculty or infrastructure and won’t produce good doctors: PMA.

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has accused the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) of violating the laws and principles of merit, hence, compromising the state of medical education in Pakistan.

The association alleged that many medical universities recognised by the PMDC should not be recognised at all because they didn’t meet the necessary requirements.

“The recognition of colleges like the Rehber Medical College, Red Crescent Medical College, Hashmat Medical College and others is against the rules and regulations prescribed by the PMDC itself,” said the general secretary of the PMA, Dr Mirza Azhar Ali, at a news conference at PMA House on Monday.

Dr Ali said that some universities which were not recognised earlier were recognised now by the council, so the students don’t lose an academic year. “It is unjustifiable that medical colleges are being recognised for this purpose because the entire infrastructure - physical and educational, is not in place,” Ali said. “These students are not being taught according to the standards and it is not in public interest to have such doctors treat patients.”

The PMA also criticised the government, specifically Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, for admitting over 100 students from Afghanistan into medical colleges without any language aptitude tests. “The prime minister granted admission to foreign students to satisfy the Afghan government. They were not given admission on merit but for political reasons,” said Dr Ali of the PMA. He also alleged that Senator Dr Asim Hussain, the vice president of the PMDC, used the organisation for his own interests and let education take a backseat.

A member of the PMDC, Dr Sher Shah Syed, also agreed. “Medical education is becoming a joke in Pakistan,” he said. “If this continues, the country will end up producing glorified MBBS quacks.”  He said that the organisation needed to be restructured to allow a more stringent procedure for nominations of the council, rather than simple appointments at key positions.

Dr Idrees Adhi, the president of the PMA in Karachi, said that the number of members on the PMDC council should be increased. He thought that the voices of public sector members were not given any importance. The Pakistan Medical Association said that it does not have any legal recourse that it can take against violations of merit, because the charters of institutions were being altered to suit their needs.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th, 2012.