August 21, 2007	Tuesday	Sha’aban 7, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Aug 20: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has once again started revising the MBBS curriculum, which had been revised only three years ago, although its own rules specify revision after every five years.

The curriculum for medical colleges was last revised in 2004 and the changes circulated among all medical institutions for implementation in 2005.

However, the recently-held PMDC Council meeting had reconstituted the ‘curriculum committee’ and mandated the revision of the curriculum.

PMDC regulations provide for the revision of the curriculum once in five years. Therefore, the premature move for revision has raised some questions.

The PMDC has, however, justified the revision saying it is a dynamic body of knowledge and needs to be revised continuously.

A cursory look at the composition of the revision committee, which is now filled with members from private sector institutions, sources claim, indicates that the premature revision is probably aimed at accommodating private institutions, which had in the past made attempts at the elimination of ‘anatomy’ and ‘forensic medicine’ from the syllabi.