{"id":17805,"date":"2026-03-30T09:52:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T09:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/2026\/03\/30\/safeguarding-medical-education-questions-over-the-provisional-recognition-of-colleges\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T10:02:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T10:02:03","slug":"safeguarding-medical-education-questions-over-the-provisional-recognition-of-colleges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/2026\/03\/30\/safeguarding-medical-education-questions-over-the-provisional-recognition-of-colleges\/","title":{"rendered":"Safeguarding Medical Education: Questions Over the Provisional Recognition of Colleges"},"content":{"rendered":"

Safeguarding Medical Education: Questions Over the Provisional Recognition of Colleges<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Alyna Jannat (<\/strong>Alynajannat00@gmail.com)\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

The foundation of a robust public healthcare system lies in the unquestionable quality of its medical colleges. Back in 2007, the Supreme Court of Pakistan (PLD 2007 SC 323) seemingly set a clear and profound precedent regarding medical education. The apex court observed that the “provisional” recognition of medical and dental colleges should not be granted, as such ad hoc measures jeopardize the future of thousands of students. Yet, looking at recent regulatory developments, one must ask a critical question: have our regulatory bodies, specifically the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) and its successor, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC), strictly adhered to these judicial guidelines?
\nOfficial documents, such as the audit observations for the year 2020-21, paint a concerning picture that warrants public debate. The Auditor General\u2019s report noted the reportedly irregular issuance of provisional certificates to multiple medical and dental colleges. The audit explicitly questioned whether allowing institutions to induct MBBS and BDS students based on a “partial fulfillment of recognition criteria” compromises the overall quality of medical education. If the apex audit body itself asserts that such practices violate regulatory acts and put students’ futures at stake, why has this alleged practice been allowed to persist over the years?
\nThese concerns are further amplified by a recent inquiry report reportedly compiled by the Federal Investigation Agency\u2019s (FIA) Anti Corruption Circle. Looking into the affairs of 18 medical and dental colleges during the 2022-23 period, the FIA document raises a fundamental legal question: is there any provision within the PMC Act 2020 or the PM&DC Act 2022 that permits a medical college to provisionally admit students without qualifying for a rigorous physical and academic inspection? The agency’s meticulous scrutiny reportedly concluded that no such legal provision exists in either statute.
\nAccording to the reported FIA findings, an extensive probe revealed that certain institutions such as Suleman Roshan Medical College and Muhammad Dental College Mirpur Khas allegedly continued to operate and admit students despite repeatedly failing their regulatory inspections. If these official findings hold true, how were these colleges permitted to remain functional? What oversight mechanisms failed, and who within the regulatory framework legally vetted and approved these actions without the fulfillment of codal formalities?
\nThis brings us to a critical issue of public transparency. Under the current PM&DC Act 2022, the final recognition of a medical college reportedly requires formal processing under Section 21, culminating in the approval of the Federal Cabinet and a subsequent gazette notification. However, concerns have been raised by observers that several colleges with questionable or pending inspection statuses are allegedly still listed as “recognized” on official regulatory web portals. Does this discrepancy not risk misleading prospective students and their parents, who rely entirely on the regulator’s website to make life altering educational and financial investments?
\nFurthermore, the audit reports also highlighted a reported failure to enforce Section 19(7) of the PMC Act, which mandated the public declaration of fixed tuition and all ancillary fees prior to admissions. The audit observed that due to alleged negligence by the authorities, there was no effective mechanism to monitor and stop the practice of seeking direct or indirect payments in the form of donations. Are students and their families being left vulnerable to financial exploitation due to this reported absence of regulatory controls?
\nIn light of these official audit observations and FIA inquiries, one must ask about the role of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination. Can the parent ministry afford to remain a silent spectator while questions swirl around the mushroom growth of allegedly inadequately inspected medical colleges?
\nIs it not time for the federal government to proactively intervene and constitute a high level, independent commission to thoroughly review the recognition and inspection processes of the past few years? Addressing these questions and ensuring absolute transparency in how medical colleges are approved is not merely an administrative necessity. It is a moral obligation to protect the students who aspire to heal this nation, ensuring they are trained in institutions that fully meet the highest standards of the law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Safeguarding Medical Education: Questions Over the Provisional Recognition of Colleges By Alyna Jannat (Alynajannat00@gmail.com) The foundation of a robust public healthcare system lies in the unquestionable quality of its medical colleges. Back in 2007, the Supreme Court of Pakistan (PLD 2007 SC 323) seemingly set a clear and profound precedent regarding medical education. The apex …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":17804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[1415],"class_list":["post-17805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-pmdc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17805"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17810,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17805\/revisions\/17810"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}