ISLAMABAD: Students from Balochistan and districts of tribal areas have protested at National Press Club Islamabad on reducing the number of seats in the government-run medical colleges.
Several students including girls gathered at National Press Club Islamabad and demanded to increase the quota of Balochistan and tribal areas students in the government-run medical colleges of the country.
Student leader Wajid Khan in an exclusive interview with MM News said, “We belong to FATA and Balochistan and a quota of 265 medical seats was allotted to us and later it reduced to 29.”
He said these seats were other than the quota already reserved for FATA and Balochistan in Medical Colleges of the country. Later, the government increased these seats up to four seats (2 for FATA and 2 for Balochistan in each medical college) total of 265 plus seats were reserved for these areas.
“HEC used to conduct test against these seats and recommended the 265 plus students and PMC were allotting seats to them in each Medical college during past years he added.
However, during the 2019-2020 session students faced difficulties in getting admission under this project and got managed through intervention by Senate Standing Committee for Less Developed Areas, Senate Standing Committee for States and Region and Senate Standing Committee on Health, he said.
However, during the current session, HEC conducted tests and PMC is offering only 29 seats to the students of less developed areas under this project of the federal government, the students lamented.
The students requested the government to reconsider the policy to help save the educational year of the students. The students demanded the above quota-seats in Medical Colleges from Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) under the HEC project for less developed areas.
