LAHORE: The ongoing tug-of-war between the Punjab government and private medical and dental colleges over admission criteria for the 2016 session has put the future of scores of students at stake, especially those hailing from middle-class families.

The father of one student, who wished not to be named, said he had utilised allhissavings topayforthe fee of his only daughter, who wanted to become a doctor.

`She got four A plus grades in A` Level exams but could not get admission to a public medical college, thanks to the equivalence system. I have to sell my ancestral landto pay for the fee,` said a sobbing man who had come from Rahim Yar Khan to the University of Health Sciences (UHS) where he was informed that his daughter`s admission to a private college here was void as it was done in violation of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council`s (PMDC) revised policy.

`I am not sure what will happen to the amount which has been paid as admission, tuition fees etc. The private college administration says the UHS will decide the fate of the admissions. The people at UHS say the matter was in court,` he added.

Meanwhile, both the Pakistan Association of Private Medical and Dental Colleges (PAPMDC) and the Punjab government stuck to theirstances at a meeting at the UHS on Tuesday.

Presided over by Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Secretary Najam Shah, the meeting was attended by PAPMDC representatives, UHS Vice Chancellor retiredMajGenProfDrMuhammad Aslam, PMDC`s Prof Dr Eice Muhammad and Dr Aamir Bandesha.

A spokesperson for PAPMDC said the associationrepresented101 private institutions in Pakistan.

`We categorically informed the Punjab government that we will not surrender our sovereignty. The PMDC is a regulatory body for medical education and it should focus on its core responsibility instead of chasing red herrings like the National Testing Service.

The Punjab government said it was determined to implement the policy which was announced well in time. However, it promised to forward the reservations of PAPMDC to the PMDC with favourable recommendations.

The reservations included imposing a ban on 7pc increase in tuition feeand admissions against vacant seats under 15pc quota for foreign-qualified students, according to the PAPMDC spokesman.

A participant of the meeting representing the government said the PAPMDC was all praise for the meritbased policy but said it should have been announced much earlier.

`They also argued that without increasing the fee by at least 7pc, private institutions will not be able to meet their expenditures. The government proposed that private instituteshire the services of independent chartered accountants to get their accounts audited. This will also help them prove that their expenditures are more than the amount collected as fee.

`Furthermore, we categorically told them that the 15pc reserved seats for foreign students would only be filled by candidates who have physically studied abroad. In case all the seats are not filled, the same will be readvertised as open merit seats and admission made on the basis of merit, the participant said.