Compelled to leave

The plight of Pakistani medical students threatened and, in some cases, beaten by angry crowds in Kyrgyzstan leads one to ask why so many Pakistani students have gone there in the first place. This is reflective of the exorbitant costs of pursuing a medical education in Pakistan, particularly in terms of the fees charged by private medical colleges. We should expand MBBS training slots in Pakistan and review the fee structures of some of our medical programmes. The fees for nursing courses ought to be abolished while the fees for pharmacology and physiotherapy should be reduced. Expanding the number of medical colleges can also help. Families in Pakistan should not have to send large amounts of money abroad so that their students can study in foreign countries.

M Shaikh

Islamabad