New admission policy may affect students’ chances to get medical education

A former dean of a KP-based medical college has disclosed that the Centralized Admission Policy (CAP) enforced by the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) would prohibit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) students from getting admission to the province's private medical and dental colleges.

Under the CAP, students from all over Pakistan can take admissions in private medical and dental colleges in any province, regardless of their domiciles, through a centralized merit list established with a minimum of 60 percent marks after passing the Medical and Dental College Admissions Examination (MDCAT).

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There are 167 private colleges across Pakistan, of which 102 are medical, while 65 are dental. Most of these private colleges are located in Punjab, while KP has 1,425 seats, with only 11 medical and 6 dental colleges. In these 17 private colleges, KP students who cannot get admission to public-sector colleges seek enrollment.

The former dean said, “if our private sector is open to other provinces, then our own students will face difficulties in getting admission in these colleges because we can’t compete with Punjab in merit due its large population of students. Punjab students would fill most of the seats in KP colleges under the CAP”

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KP-based educators called on the provincial government to discuss this issue with PMC to secure the province's students' interests.