The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has given a special amnesty to Pakistani female students studying in Afghanistan, whose education had been outlawed by the Taliban administration, as well as those studying in Ukraine, whose studies were disrupted owing to the continuing war.
To solve this problem, the newly-elected council decided to hold a National Equivalence Examination (NEB) at Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU). The exam was attended by 370 people out of the 512 people who were scheduled to appear.
Throughout the year 2023, multiple Pakistani female students studying medical education in Afghanistan protested for admittance to Pakistani medical institutions due to the Taliban’s restriction on women’s higher education.
However, the erstwhile Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) did not assist these students because many of them failed the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) and registered in Afghanistan without authorization or alerting the PMC.
The PMDC agreed to allow these students to sit for the exam. Similarly, numerous male and female students had returned from Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict, and they had applied for admission to educational institutions in Pakistan. Some students had returned from different countries.
The PMDC stated in a statement published on Thursday that all essential preparations were undertaken before to the examination, which received excellent response from students. The test was taken by 370 people out of the 512 people who were scheduled to take it. The RMU collated and produced the findings after a comprehensive study and evaluation of all papers, which were afterward uploaded to the PMDC’s website.
The PMDC’s President, Dr. Rizwan Taj, claimed that the council has given special amnesty to Pakistani female students studying in Afghanistan as well as those impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. He announced that the NEB would be held twice a year to assess the knowledge, clinical skills, and professional attributes of students who have completed a portion of their medical or dental programs in other countries and are seeking transfer or admission to medical or dental colleges in Pakistan.
Dr. Taj underscored the council’s commitment to upholding high standards throughout Pakistan and aligning them with international norms. Accreditation with the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) is a high objective, and efforts are underway to acquire it. To achieve the WFME accreditation standards, all institutions have been asked to create a research cell and a quality assurance department.
The PMDC’s decision to grant amnesty and hold the NEB demonstrates its commitment to enabling Pakistani students’ educational goals who have experienced hurdles owing to political conditions and conflicts in other countries.
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