LAHORE: The University of Health Sciences (UHS) has issued the schedule for admissions to public and private medical and dental colleges in Punjab, announcing that the applications process will go on from Oct 16 to 31st.

The applications will be received through the UHS online portal. This decision was made during a meeting of the provincial admission committee held at the UHS on Monday, chaired by the secretary of the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education department. The VCs of all public medical universities in Punjab attended the meeting.

UHS Vice Chancellor Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore briefed on medical college admissions.

The applications for medical and dental colleges must be submitted separately through online portals.

Health secretary Ali Jan Khan emphasized that centralised admissions to private medical colleges would simplify the process for candidates, ensuring transparency and merit-based selections. He directed that all necessary measures be taken to expedite the admissions process.

Moreover, Khan stressed the need to enhance the bandwidth for online applications to guarantee smooth functioning of the online system. He reiterated that the primary focus of the Punjab government remains the convenience of candidates and their parents.

In the meeting, a decision was reached that the initial fee for private sector medical colleges would be collected by the UHS. Prospective students entering private medical colleges would be required to submit a fee of Rs1m. This fee will be collected within a three-day window through the Bank of Punjab. Importantly, the meeting clarified that there will be no obligatory upgrade for candidates entering private medical colleges.

The candidates have the option to retain their admission status in their initial colleges if they prefer. Once the admissions process is completed, any outstanding fees will be submitted by the candidate to the respective college.

Those who attended the meeting included King Edward Medical University VC Professor Mahmood Ayaz, Faisalabad Medical University VC Professor Zafar Ali Chaudhry, University of Child Health Sciences Lahore VC Professor Masood Sadiq, Pro-VC Fatima Jinnah Medical University Professor Kamran Khalid, UHS Registrar Professor Sarah Ghafoor and Specialized Healthcare Additional Secretary Dr Hafiz Muhammad Waseem.

Rawalpindi Medical University VC Professor Muhammad Umar and Nishtar Medical University Multan VC Professor Rana Altaf Ahmed participated via a video link.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2023