ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) has announced the results of National Licensing Examination (NLE) step 1 (medical) which was taken by 11,506 candidates in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Multan from December 1 to 6.

As many as 8,069 graduates of local institutions sat the exam out of which 7,233 got through with a pass percentage of 89.64. Moreover, 3,437 graduates from foreign medical colleges appeared in the test and 1,137 of them were declared pass (33.08pc).

According to a PMC spokesperson, the first position was bagged by Shafqat Ali from CMH Lahore Medical College who scored 88.50pc marks. The second position was bagged by Mr Abbas from Sindh Medical College, Karachi, (87.5pc) and the third position was jointly shared by Kamaluddin Azam from Kabir Medical College Peshawar and Ayeza Nadeem Butt from Services Institute of Medical Sciences Lahore. They scored 86.5pc marks.

Among the foreign graduates, Amanullah from Yichun University School of Medicine China topped the exam with 81pc marks.

PMC says results of foreign graduates highlight concerns about education quality in non-English speaking countries

“A complete list of national and international medical colleges with the number of graduates attempting the NLE step 1 (medical) from each institution and the number of candidates passing the exam is now available on the PMC website,” he said.

“The results of the Pakistani graduates are heartening and qualifying the NLE is a fair indicator of the level of clinical training imparted in the colleges, producing a high percentage of successful results,” he said.

“The result of foreign graduates has once again highlighted concerns of the commission as to the quality of education and especially clinical training being offered by many foreign medical colleges especially in the non-English speaking countries where there has been a mushroom growth of medical colleges offering offshore medical programmes based on a curriculum which does not follow the locally recognised qualification for obtaining a licence in these foreign countries.”

The spokesperson said the PMC had time and again stressed the importance of quality education and proper clinical training to pursue a career in medicine.

He said the NLE highlights the standard of national and international colleges and the steps that need to be taken to improve the standard of medical education by promoting meritocracy and transparency.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2021