Sherry Rehman questions govt’s decision to abolish PMDC

ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Leader of the PPP in the Senate Senator Sherry Rehman raised the alarm on how the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) sealed the building of the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC), formerly known as the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).

“It is shocking how unlimited powers have been given to private dental colleges for fixing fees and for arbitrary admissions. The centralised admission policy now stands abolished,” she said in a statement on Thursday.

The PMC Bill was bulldozed by the PTI government during the joint session last week, which was signed into law by the president through an ordinance.

Sherry Rehman said not to forget, the way PMDC was dissolved is unconstitutional in the first place. “It was rejected by a majority vote last year. An ordinance stands annulled immediately after a disapproving resolution is passed by either parliamentary chamber under the rules of business," she said.

In this whole fiasco, she said Pakistani medical colleges will now lose international certification. “Instead of taking control and more responsibility to correct a faulty system, the federal government is doing the exact opposite”, the Senator said.

Sherry Rehman said thousands of doctors have been waiting for their permanent and provisional certificates for last year and instead of facilitating them, the federal government seals PMDC.

She said the centralised admission policy, which was introduced in the past to allow students to be admitted on merit, will be abolished and according to arbitrary interventions, not a policy board with proper all-counter representation, favoured private medical and dental colleges will have the power to frame the admission policy.

She said, “We should not abandon our overseas healthcare professionals, who are some of the best in the world, nor should the criterion of merit-based, inclusive and transparent policies be jettisoned,” she said.

Sherry Rehman said the federal government has not only given a questionable level of admission autonomy to its hand-picked private medical colleges, but has also terminated the services of around 220 employees of the PMDC. She said this treatment is not new in the PTI government. Previously, we have witnessed how over 400 PTDC employees were sacked without any notice.