THE Chief Justice of Pakistan has taken cognizance of the problems in medical education in Pakistan. While it is encouraging to see the apex court focusing its suo motu lens on an issue affecting the health of the entire population, minus those who can af ford health care abroad, it is worth sounding a note of caution for the court`s consideration.
The issue of medical education is too complex to be treated merely as a sop for the populist sensibilities of the masses. It is not so simple a case of private medical colleges` greed or the incompetence of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council whose status has been declared illegal. The issue has multiple dimensions and without dealing with these holistically any decision will create further problems instead of solving them.
Consider for example the issues of exorbitant fees. Who is to determine the amount of fees for a properly functioning and resourced medical college? Medical education has become very costly internationally. A proper bench marking with international medical institutions and those in our own public sector is essential for the courts before passing any judgment on fee structure.
The PMDC unfortunately has becometoo controversial af ter a decision against its legal status.
Pakistan has a low doctors-to-patient ratio 1:1000. Then why is the government not establishing more medical colleges? Instead of rendering private medical colleges unviable by imposing an unrealistic fee structure there is a need to impose standards of infrastructure, clinical facilities, examination methodology.
Issues like the fee structure should be decided by a committee of experts while the selection of the candidates should be the sole preserve of the respective institutions.
