PMC cancels unfilled enhanced quota seats

Islamabad: The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) has cancelled the unfilled enhanced quota seats in the countrywide government medical colleges and announced that it won't register students enrolled for them.

According to the regulator for medical education in the country, 594 enhanced seats for various quotas in 33 public sector medical colleges were required to be filled by March 22.

The development comes following the failure of the provincial governments to produce the lists of students admitted on 594 enhanced seats for various quotas, especially the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Scholarship Programme for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's tribal districts and Balochistan.

The PMC sought those lists from provinces by March 22 and extended the deadline until April 5 warning the failure to comply with the order would lead to the cancellation of enhanced admission quota.

However, the HEC informed the PMC that the provincial governments had yet to process the allocation of seats for its scholarship programme. According to PMC officials, 15 seats were enhanced in three public colleges in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 240 seats were enhanced in 15 public colleges in Punjab, 240 seats were enhanced in 11 public colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and eight seats were enhanced for NUMS in two colleges to accommodate various quota seats with priority given to the HEC Scholarship Programme for ex-FATA and Balochistan.

In Balochistan, 91 seats were enhanced in two public colleges to accommodate the province's requirements. According to Section 18(3) of the PMC Act, 2021, provincial governments have the exclusive authority to allocate all seats available in their respective public sector medical colleges to any quota (funded or non-funded) or self-finance basis for the purpose of admissions, which are also carried out by them directly.

The PMC allowed an increase in the number of seats over the meeting of enhancement criteria and with the understanding that these seats are to be filled with students from various quotas, especially ex-FATA and Balochistan, who fall under the HEC Scholarship Programme.