The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has chosen to ban the foundation of new clinical/dental colleges and increase the number of seats for three to five years, considering a shortage of teachers.
This was approved in a recent meeting of the PMDC Chamber. The meeting considered worries about the accessibility of qualified faculty required to maintain educational standards because of a quick expansion in clinical/dental colleges in Pakistan.
“It was agreed that according to information available, the faculty required for 187 clinical/dental colleges is 26,018, while the workforce accessible in these clinical/dental colleges is 22,746. This shows a grave scarcity of faculty, which has prompted a deterioration of educational competence, clinical preparation, research, and academic excellence, resulting in influencing patient care and the general population at large,” the reports stated.
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“Considering the situation, the PMDC council has concluded that a ban (for a time of 3-5 years) be forced on new clinical/dental colleges, as well as on the upgrade of seats (making a similar effect, for example, increased faculty requirement). This will strengthen the regulatory mechanism of the PMDC to guarantee institutional compliance with the principles,” the reports added.
The colleges under administrative control will enlist 55 students rather than 15 from Islamabad after the increase in quota.
“This is concerning the meeting of the federal cabinet held on January 30, 2025, at the Prime Minister’s Home in regards to ‘revision of quota distribution of MBBS-BDS seats in the medical/dental colleges under the managerial control of the Ministry of Health.’. It is informed that the bureau has graciously approved the revision of the quota presented by the federal health secretary,” the document stated.
After the expansion in the number of seats for Islamabad residents, Punjab’s seats have been decreased from 38 to 29, Sindh (country) from 9 to 7, Sindh (urban) from 6 to 5, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 9 to 7. After a decrease of one seat, the number of seats for Balochistan has been reduced from 5 to 4. Hence, seats for Islamabad occupants have been expanded from 5 to 14 in Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical College. In Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Medical and Dental College, there will be 16 seats.