Private medical colleges' excess fees to be refunded

A Senate Subcommittee on Health announced that it will investigate private medical colleges responsible for charging inflated fees from students. 

Senator Palwasha Khan, convener of the committee, chaired a sub-committee meeting where she highlighted that the law clearly states that Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has the authority to control fees. She raised questions  regarding the role of the medical body, stating that due to the criminal negligence of PMDC, students of private medical colleges were “slaughtered in the name of fees.”

The committee was told that a fee of upto three million rupees was charged from first year MBBS and BDS students.

Committee chairman Palwasha Khan avowed that additional fees collected from students in the year 2024 will be refunded. “We will refund the excess fee charged by these institutions and cancel the registration of all the medical colleges violating the rules,” she said.

Reports suggest that PMDC and the health ministry officials admitted that they have been charging heavy fees from students.

Adding to the conversation, Senator Humayun Mohmand said that the drastic increase in fees from Rs0.8 million to Rs3.5 million is illegal. Moreover, he said that a 300 per cent increase is unacceptable. Among them, many of our parliament members are doing business, he remarked. 

On this occasion, Committee Chairman Palwasha Khan emphasised while the law is very clear that PMDC can control the fees, private medical colleges are openly "looting children".

Khan said that PMDC gave birth to the private medical colleges which she described as a “mafia”.

As the chairman asked the PMDC’s failure to refund the additional fee, “Why were these additional fees of up to Rs0.9 million not refunded?” The authority’s registrar stated in the meeting that private medical colleges are not categorised. Private medical colleges raise their fees independently.

Adding to that the registrar also informed the committee that education and services are treated separately while compensation is collected for the use of services and machines.

As an example, the committee was informed that a Rs2.9 million fee increase at Hazrat Bari Sarkar (HBS) Medical College has happened over two years.

Upon this, the committee requested a detailed breakdown of the fees charged by the colleges. 

The committee issued a directive to investigate the colleges that have increased their fees by 10-15 per cent.

Parents and students who wish to voice their concerns about the fees have also been encouraged to reach out by the committee.

PMDC President Rizwan Taj and former health secretary Iftikhar Shallwani have been summoned to the next committee meeting to delve into the matter further.