ISLAMABAD, Oct 2: The Ministry of Health has told the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) to furnish within a week a report on the deficiencies being faced by public medical colleges like critical shortage of teaching faculty, a source told Dawn.

The ministry took the move on newspaper reports about shortage of teaching faculty in Bahawalpur Medical College and Chandka Medical College, Larkana (Sindh).

Recently, the Punjab Assembly was told during a session that 60 per cent faculty posts in Bahawalpur Medical College had been lying vacant for quite some time. According to reports, only 20 professors out of total required 36, 40 associate professors out of 46, and 46 assistant professors out of required 60 were teaching.

The PMDC has also been asked to inform the ministry about the actions taken by the council to meet this deficiency in both Bahawalpur and Chandka medical colleges as it was undermining the quality of education, the source said.

Both the health ministry and the PMDC have been at logger heads for quite sometime on the issue of registration of private medical colleges by the council. The council is resisting to give recognition to different private medical colleges on the plea that the standard of education being imparted them is not up to the mark. On the other hand, the ministry wants the council to justly treat private institutions.

To end this controversy, the Senate Standing Committee on Health had taken up the issue and, after detailed deliberations, had suggested to the government to consider introducing a standard national testing and equalization examination for thousands of fresh medical graduates of public and private medical institutions.

The proposal is aimed at ensuring that quality medical education is imparted in the country, the source said, adding that the results of the tests would enable the authorities to monitor the standard of education being imparted by both private and public medical institutions.