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PMDC increases tuition fees of private colleges

By Asif Chaudhry 2015-08-19
LAHORE: The PakistanMedical and Dental Council (PMDC) has increased annual tuition fees by seven per cent for the students getting admission to private medical and dental colleges.

The council recently reviewed its regulations `Admission to MBBS/ BDS Courses and Conditions for House Job/Internship/Foundation Year Regulations 2013` and directed the colleges to implement the new fees from 2015-16 session onwards.

It had also categorised public and private medical and dental colleges into `A` and `B` in the 139th session of the council, an official privy to the information told Dawn.

He said the tuition fees to the tune of Rs100,000 had beenincreased per student for category `A` private colleges raising it to Rs700,000 per year.

Similarly, he said, category `B` colleges would charge each student Rs642,000 after an increase of Rs42,000 in the annual tuition fees.

`No medical and dental institution training for MBBS/BDS in the private sector shall charge tuition fee more than 600,000 per annum per student,` the 2013 regulations read.

Students reacted to the development with anger and shock.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Pakistan Medical Student Council (PMSC) called the PMDC `private medical and dental council`.

The official said PMDC`s decision would impact Punjab`s over 3,000 students as the Punjab had a majority of private colleges (27) followedby Sindh (14).

He said the PMDC has allowed 23 category `B` private medical and dental colleges in Punjab to charge each student Rs642,000 as tuition fees annually instead Rs600,000 while four category `A` category colleges charge Rs700,000 each student.

Similarly, five `A` category colleges in Sindh would charge each student a Rs700,000 annual tuition fee and the others Rs642,000.

There are only five private colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and one each in Balochistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Other than tuition fee, students pay university examination fees, taxes, hostel fees, transport fees and the one-time an admission fee under the PMDC regulations.

PMDC Registrar Dr Shaista Faisal told Dawn the council had increased the tuition fees to facili-tate those medical and dental colleges which showed good performance.

She said no fees had been increased for category `B` private medical colleges as they were already charging a student Rs642,000 annual tuition fees.

She rejected the claim of students thefee had beenincreasedforboth `A` and `B` category colleges.

`We have also directed private colleges not to charge students more than the decided fees,` Dr Shaista said.

The PMSC stated that it was a quite funny idea that the PMDC had rewarded private colleges` owners for their good performance with students` money.

In a joint statement, PMSC officebearers announced holding a protest demonstration and taking the matter to the court of law.