Members of the Standing Committee on Health of the National Assembly say the government must bring medical students’ tuition fees in line with levels in vogue in other comparable economies.
By Naveed Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: The government must take immediate steps to put medical education within the reach of the common citizen, the Standing Committee on Health of the National Assembly said Wednesday.
Members of the Committee discussed the state of the medical profession in the country at the meeting, chaired by Chairman Afzal Khan Dhandla.
Speaking on the occasion, committee members lamented that the students who wish to join the medical field are in serious trouble, and the authorities must consider announcing scholarships to mitigate the situation.
one member said the Committee should review how much other developing countries spend on the medical sector and how much we in Pakistan do.
The members of the committee expressed their gratitude for the abolition of the black laws of PMC and MTI. Committee member Zahra Wadud Fatemi expressed her anger over the non-implementation of the MTI law.
Special Secretary Health Mirza Nasiruddin Mashhood Ahmed said on this occasion that the work is in progress. Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani also expressed grief over the slowness of the Ministry of Health and said that the full post of Secretary should be given so that Special Secretary can work boldly.
He said that there are vacancies in PIMs, and wondered why they are not filled especially given the high and rising unemployment in the country. Dr. Malik Naeem said that work is being started on it within three to four days and all the vacancies will be filled in the light of government rules.
Speaking on the issue of scholarship given to medical students by the former institution PMC, Registrar PMDC Dr Sulaiman Ahmed told the committee that the process was started on December 4, 2021.
Some 473 applications were received through the online portal, out of which three hundred and one students were awarded scholarship, he said, adding that the discontinuation of the program was due to an audit observation, which prevented further scholarships from being awarded.
However, the students who have been awarded the scholarship will continue their studies.
Member Committee Zahra Wadud Fatemi said that medical education has become very expensive in the country and is beyond the reach of the common man.
“A poor child cannot become a doctor”, she said. “We are accountable to all MDCAT students. I have received messages from 200,000 students. Give scholarships to children or adjust the fees accordingly.”
On this occasion, the chairman committee ruled that the fees medical students pay in Pakistan should be comparable with other developing countries so that the common man can fulfill his dreams.
He further said that students from Pakistan go to study medicine in countries like Kyrgyzstan where they are being exploited badly.
Next item on the agenda was the matter of Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) projects of the sector, including a mobile drug lab.
Members criticized these projects for various reasons and further discussion on the PSDP was postponed until the next meeting.
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