PMDC denies increase in medical college seats

Islamabad: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council has rejected reports suggesting an increase in the number of seats in MBBS and BDS programmes of the country's public and private colleges.

"We haven't agreed to 20 per cent seat enhancement for MBBS and BDS courses in public and private colleges. Neither we received any application from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government nor did we grant approval for any such enrolment increase," spokesperson for the PMDC Hina Shaukat said in an official statement.

She said the provincial and regional authorities could enhance seats in the respective medical and dental colleges only after securing the approval of their regulator, PMDC. The spokesperson said the MBBS and BDS programmes were recognised and seats of medical and dental colleges increased under a procedure, which included formal requests by provincial governments or individual colleges through the federal health ministry.

"We [PMDC] are a national regulatory body and under the law, no province can work out or announce any medical college seat enhancement on its own. Seat enhancement is subject to the completion of the due process," she said.