The Registrar PMDC has strictly forbidden all colleges and universities from advertising or offering any unrecognised postgraduate medical and dental programmes.
All medical and dental institutions/universities have received letters from the Pakistan Medical Dental Council (PMDC) requesting that they register with the PMDC in accordance with section 25 of the PMDC Act in order to offer postgraduate programmes.
The Registrar PMDC has strictly forbidden all colleges and universities from advertising or offering any unrecognised postgraduate medical and dental programmes in accordance with the Council’s directives.
In the event that the intimation is not complied with, PMDC will begin disciplinary action in accordance with section 35(i) of the PMDC Act 2022, which reads as follows:
Penalty.—(1) Whoever runs or establishes or endorses any institution or advertises admissions in an institution for imparting education in medicine or dentistry, which is not recognized under sections 21, 22, 25, 26 or 29 or in respect of which recognition has been withdrawn under section 33, shall be guilty of an offence punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, but shall not be less than a year, or with fine which may extend to twenty million rupees, but shall not be less than ten million rupees, or with both and shall also be liable to closure of such institution.
Registrar PMDC further stated that all medical /dental practitioners intending to acquire postgraduate medical /dental qualifications in Pakistan are informed to take admissions in PMDC-recognized postgraduate programs only.
It is unequivocally stated that the PMDC shall only register those postgraduate degrees that have been properly examined and approved by the Council and are listed in the two schedules of the PMDC Act 2022.
He continued by saying that PMDC has established standards of excellence and is working to implement them in all medical and dental schools throughout Pakistan for undergraduate and graduate programmes.
While continuing to penalise people and organisations that fall short of the standards of excellence set by PMDC, PMDC will keep working towards the goals the Council has set to improve the calibre of medical and dental education and licencing in Pakistan.
A list of Recognized postgraduate qualifications and DAIs is available on the PMDC website.