PMDC to review proposal to increase MBBS passing marks to 70pc: officials

ISLAMABAD: A proposal to increase the passing marks for the MBBS exams from 50 to 70 percent is under consideration and will be discussed at the next council meeting of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHS,R&C) and PMDC officials told a senate panel on Wednesday.

But the Chairman and members of the Senate Standing Committee On Health strongly opposed the proposal, saying it would be near to impossible for most of the MBBS students to secure 70 percent passing marks and advised PMDC officials not to adopt the proposal, terming it ‘ridiculous’. “70 percent passing marks for the MBBS is a joke. Senator Humayun Mohmand, the Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Health asked if those proposing 70 PC passing marks for the MBBS, are doctors themselves”. He also advised PMDC to reduce passing marks for foreign graduates to 50 percent as proposed by the Senate panel.

The Chairman also warned PMDC that he would take the matter to Senate’s privilege committee if PMDC failed to justify why foreign medical graduates were being asked to score 70 percent marks while MBBS students had the privilege of 50 percent passing marks only. “This is against the principle of justice,” Senator Humayun observed. Senator Mehar Taj Roghani and Senator Zarqa Suharwardi also criticized PMDC for its proposal to increase the passing marks for the MBBS exams and warned that it would create unrest among medical students as it is immensely difficult for medical students to score 70 percent aggregate marks.

During the meeting, the Chairperson of the Senate’s sub-committee on nursing presented her report on the Pakistan Nursing Council (PNC) and claimed that a ‘deep-rooted’ mafia was running the affairs of the PNC, which was registering fake nursing colleges and producing incompetent nurses. She said their sub-committee has prepared some recommendations after months-long investigation and deliberations, according to which, cases against the registrar and deputy registrar of the PNC should be forwarded to the FIA.

Chairman Senator Humayun Mohmand also criticized the PNC for not allowing institutions like the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) to increase the number of seats for its nursing college from 50 to 100 although they were willing to educate and train the additional nurses on the self-finance basis. While on the other, the PNC is accused of being behind the mushroom growth of nursing colleges. Special Secretary Health Waqar-ul-Hassan said they were in the process of restructuring the PNC on the pattern of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and assured the senators that following restructuring, the PNC functioning would be improved.

The Senate Standing Committee on Health also asked PMDC not to allow the Dow International Medical College to give 100 admissions to foreign students after PMDC officials said, under law no medical college could give admissions to more than 15 percent of foreign students.

The committee also discussed the ‘The Injured Persons (Medical Aid) Amendment Bill 2023” by Senator Meher Taj Roghani and agreed not to let a complainant lodge an FIR against private hospitals directly for denying treatment to injured persons after legal experts said a complaint should be lodged with a person nominated by the government. If the government’s nominee considers the complaint to be genuine, he or she can recommend lodging an FIR against doctors and officials denying treatment to the injured.