‘Private medical, dental colleges not transferring fee to face action’

LAHORE: The Provincial Admission Committee for Medical and Dental Colleges has recommended punitive action against the private medical and dental colleges which are not transferring the fee of upgraded candidates to their respective colleges in sheer violation of rules and regulations.

The meeting was held at University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Friday under the chairmanship of Vice-Chancellor Prof Javed Akram. The meeting decided to take up the matter in UHS Syndicate meeting.

On the occasion, Prof Javed Akram said the admitted students were upgraded to other colleges according to their merit. No college could legally withhold student fees for such upgrades, he added.

The admission committee recommended that the matter may also be taken up with the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). The committee members were informed that complaints were received from students that some private medical colleges had increased fees during the session against the law.

On this, the UHS VC said that the complaints of the students were heard on the order of Lahore High Court. The matter will be discussed at the PMDC Admission Board meeting on July 13.

Dr Allah Rakha, head of the UHS admission team, told the committee that admissions were delayed this year first due to litigation and later because of Covid-19. And now, he added, as the period of three months has already lapsed, some colleges were not refunding fees to students who have had their admissions revoked.

On this, Professor Javed Akram said that people were facing an extraordinary situation due to coronavirus. The colleges should not ignore this and students should be allowed to get their fee refunded.

It was decided in the meeting that since the Lahore High Court had canceled the admission list issued on January 29, the colleges should immediately refund the fees to the students on the list who opted not to continue their studies.

In addition, the fees of the students who have canceled their admission in writing should also be refunded in view of the hardship being faced due to coronavirus. Allama Iqbal Medical College Lahore Principal Prof Arif Tajmal, UHS Registrar Dr Asad Zaheer and a Punjab Health Department representative attended the meeting while Private Association of Medical Institutions (PAMI) President Dr Javed Asghar and PMDC member Prof Tanveer Khaliq also participated in it through video link.