LAHORE: The owners and principals of all private medical colleges in Punjab reached a consensus on conducting centralised admissions for MBBS and BDS programmes under University of Health Sciences (UHS), Lahore.

A meeting presided over by UHS Vice-Chacellor Ahsan Waheed Rathore here on Friday took key decisions to ensure a transparent and merit-based admission process for private medical colleges.

During the meeting, the college representatives unanimously agreed to adhere to UHS` centralised admission system and confirmed that only candidates admitted through the varsity would be accepted.

Briefing the participantsabout the admission schedule, Prof Rathore announced that the admission process for private medical colleges would commence on Jan 21, with candidates able to submit applications through the UHS online portal until Jan 30.

The merit list will be published on Feb 3, followed by the first selection list on Feb 5.

The VC emphasised that the admissions will be conducted in line with the policies of the Punjab government and the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to ensure transparency and merit.

He noted that the centralised admissions for private medical colleges were successfully completed last year and stressed the needfor the colleges` cooperation to meet this year`s timeline.

Prof Rathore further elaborated that separate admissions would be held for MBBS and BDS programmes, with each selection list to be issued after a three-day interval.

He urged all colleges to fully cooperate with UHS to uphold the principles of merit and transparency.

The principals and owners of private medical colleges present at the meeting expressed full confidence in UHS`s centralised admission system and pledged their complete support.

They also lauded the university`s efforts in successfully completing the admission process on schedule last year. Staff Reporter