Despite the searing summer heat, medical and dental students across Pakistan have been left without proper summer vacations this year, as delays in the start of MBBS and BDS academic sessions have disrupted the academic calendar.
Typically, MBBS classes commence on March 1, but this year’s admissions were delayed, pushing the start to April. As a result, students have been granted only a token seven-day break in July — and in some years, not even that.
The burden is particularly heavy on second- and third-year students, already grappling with challenging coursework intensified by recent MBBS module changes. Many students have voiced frustration, highlighting that only those in medical and dental colleges seem to be deprived of regular summer holidays, unlike students in other disciplines.
For hostel residents, the situation is even more dire. With little or no air conditioning available, students are forced to endure record-breaking heat under inadequate living conditions.
With temperatures soaring above 45°C in some cities, aspiring doctors are bearing the brunt of an overstretched academic system — a bitter irony for students training to safeguard the health of others.
