EVEN a cursory look at the healthcare system in place across the country reveals a state of utter disrepair. Public-sector facilities are grossly inadequate for the load they must bear, being underfunded and poorly staffed. Those in the private sector function largely without proper regulation, and patients must pay often exorbitant amounts that are set according to market needs, instead of being aligned with the principle that access to healthcare is a basic human right. The latest shambles to have been highlighted concerns the provision of medical education facilities, an example of how ‘more’ does not necessarily translate to ‘better’. As reported by this newspaper on Saturday, the establishment of ever-increasing numbers of medical and dental colleges across the country, most of them in private hands, has created a situation where faculty shortages have become endemic; according to an official of the National Health Service, the teaching of subjects that include anatomy, pharmacology and biochemistry is badly affected. Meanwhile, student-teacher ratios have fallen to unacceptable levels, made worse by the fact that several medical colleges have increased the number of seats they offer, so that student enrolment figures are raised. To put the problem in perspective, consider this: Pakistan is rivalling the US in the sheer number of facilities offering medical education. In fact, during the past year alone, 31 applications were filed for the establishment of new medical colleges.

Grim as it is, the tale does not end here. Many of the private-sector institutions have established teaching hospitals but lack key infrastructure or staff to ensure that neither the treatment of patients nor the training of students suffers. The problem is one of regulation, a task that comes under the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council. Amongst its assigned missions is safeguarding the public interest through uniform minimum standards of medical education, ensuring implementation, registering doctors, and watching out for malpractices. But this body has itself been in a state of utter confusion in recent years, in need of restructuring and being cleansed of elements that have conflicts of interest when it comes to carrying out their duties. Correcting course at this late stage, when simply shutting down institutions will adversely impact thousands of students, is a challenge indeed. Nevertheless, it is one that must urgently be taken up. This is about more than just education; it is also about the lives that will be held in the hands of graduating students.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2017