ISLAMABAD, Oct 22: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) plans a mechanism to make the MBBS students, seeking admission abroad, understand names of medicines and medical terminologies in foreign languages.

In some of the foreign universities, medicine is taught in their local language (other than English), and the doctors after graduation do not feel comfortable while practicing in Pakistan.

In the first phase, the HEC has contacted the embassy of Kyrgyzstan to arrange its language course programme for the MBBS students and devise a strategy to understand each other’s education system and eligibility criteria for admission.

The language barrier forced the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to introduce a new policy according to which the MBBS graduates from foreign universities are required to sit PMDC’s National Examination Board (NEB) Exam to qualify as practicing doctor.

This policy was challenged by 35 doctors in the Islamabad High Court.

Spokesperson of the HEC, Ayesha Ikram said that considering the problems of medical students the HEC has decided to resolve the issue.

In the first phase the HEC and the Kyrgyz Republic will jointly formulate a mechanism for admission in each other’s country.

“On the request of the HEC Executive Director, Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, Kyrgyz Ambassador Kuban Toktorbaev visited the commission on Tuesday,” she said.

During the visit, opportunities were explored to enable the students to complete a six-month English and Russian languages’ course.

It was decided during a meeting between the HEC officials and Kyrgyz Ambassador that visa of any student enrolled in the universities there would not be renewed until his/her performance is declared satisfactory by the institution concerned, she said.

Dr Mukhtar Ahmed has also invited a group of university representatives from Kyrgyz Republic to visit Pakistan for understanding the overall education system here, she said.

The HEC chief executive also emphasized inter-government agreements as well as university-to-university contacts between the two countries, she said.