April 24, 2006	Monday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, April 23: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has constituted an eight-member committee to review amendments suggested by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) to the PMDC Act 1973 and the recommendations of a Senate committee to improve medical education.

An official source told Dawn that Health Minister Mohammad Nasir Khan would head the committee comprising Higher Education Commission Chairman Prof Attaur Rehman, Secretary Health Anwar Mehmood, SM Rab Professor Emeritus, former surgeon general Lt-Gen (retired) Mohammad Arshad, Prof Mehmud Chaudhry, member board of governor, University of Health Sciences Lahore, PMDC President and Agha Khan University Dean Prof Mohammad Khurshid.

The committee had been asked to finalize its review within a month, the source said.

PMDC had suggested amendments to the PMDC Act 1973 in July 2004. On of the suggestions was to introduce a national registration licensing examination, requiring graduates to undergo a test by the council before enrolment as medical professionals.

Such an examination will help the council keep a close check on quality of education of medical institutions, the source said. The recommendations mainly deal with smooth functioning of the council, accreditation of private medical colleges and recognition of students of private institutions.

If approved, the amendments will also restrain council members from issuing non objection certificates to the medial institutions of their choice. It may be mentioned here that in the past, some medical colleges’ owners became members of the council and took the liberty of granting NOCs to their own institutions.

The Senate committee on health, in its 50-page recommendation, had also stressed the need for legislative intervention, either through a bill or an ordinance, to arrest the deterioration in the working of the PMDC.

It had also suggested giving proportionate representation in the council to private sector medical colleges. Of a total of 52 medical and dental colleges, 26 each are in public and private sectors. Out of the 26 private sector institution, only one — Agha Khan University — is recognised.

The number of students of unrecognised colleges is close to 900, while the total number of students of all 52 medical and dental colleges is 4,000.