PMC dissolves quota for foreign medical students

ISLAMABAD:The Pakistan Medical Comm­ission (PMC) has made it mandatory for overseas Pakistanis and foreign students to clear Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) to get admission in Pakistan. This abolished the quota for foreign medical students.

Private colleges have been allowed to have fee str­uct­ures for foreigners different from that for Pakistani students. Moreover, the provinces can fix a quota for foreign students for admission to their public sector colleges.

According to a notification issued by the PMC, foreign students have been divided into two categories i.e. Pakistani students [overseas Pakistanis] and foreign students.

“There are no quotas for foreign students. All foreign students will compete on a national merit for admission into private colleges. Each province may set up a quota for foreign students for admission to their public colleges, if they so desire. Private colleges may have a fee structure for foreign students different to Pakistani students, with a lower fee charged for Pakistani students,” says the notification.

According to the notification, foreign students are those who are foreign nationals and do not hold Pakistani nationality and have obtained their Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC), 12th grade examination or equivalent from outside Pakistan. Pakistani students are those who are non-resident or non-resident dual national having obtained their HSSC examination or equivalent from outside Pakistan.

“A foreign student may apply for preparation of merit to a private college on the basis of having taken the MDCAT result or SAT II (Scholastic Aptitude Test) results in Biology, Chemistry and Physics/Maths. The ratio given to each score for calculating cumulative score equivalence to MDCAT shall be Biology 40pc, Chemistry 30pc, Physics/Maths 20pc. English is exempted if the students have obtained their HSSC qualification from a programme taught primarily in English,” the notification states.

Moreover this year, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, students of both categories have been exempted from MDCAT and only SAT II will be considered for their admissions. Foreign students who elect to come to Pakistan and take the MDCAT on Nov 15, 2020, will not lose their status as foreign student for purposes of applying for admissions. A foreign student will after having taken the MDCAT still retain the right to either select their MDCAT score or their SAT II scores at the time of applying for admissions to private college, says the notification.

-DN Report