ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) today (Tuesday) abolished the quota for foreign students for the first time in the country’s history.
“There are no quotas for foreign students. All foreign students will compete on national merit for admission into private colleges,” PMC said in a notification issued in this regard.
Pakistan Medical Commission has made it mandatory for overseas Pakistanis and foreign students to clear the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) to get admission to Pakistan.
“Each province may set up a quota for foreign students for admission to their public colleges if they so desire,” the notification added. Moreover, private colleges have been allowed to have fee structures for foreigners different from that for Pakistani students, with a lower fee charged for Pakistani students.
The medical body, according to the notification, has divided foreign students into two categories i.e. Pakistani students [overseas Pakistanis] and foreign students.
PMC said that foreign students are those who are foreign nationals and do not hold Pakistani nationality and have obtained their Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC), 12th-grade examination, or equivalent from outside Pakistan.
“Pakistani students are those who are non-resident or non-resident dual national having obtained their HSSC examination or equivalent from outside Pakistan,” it added.
The notification further informed, “A foreign student may apply for preparation of merit to a private college on the basis of having taken the MDCAT result or SAT II (Scholastic Aptitude Test) results in Biology, Chemistry and Physics/Maths.”
However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students of both categories have been exempted from MDCAT and only SAT II will be considered for their admissions.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), a representative body of doctors, has expressed concern over the decision and said the decision would close the doors of medical education for local students.
