Karachi: The recent admission policy passed by the new PMDC states that MBBS would require a 55% in the MDCAT to secure position whereas BDS students shall require 45%. The fraternity has raised concerns over the low admission criteria for dental students, claiming that the admission criteria does not justify the course curriculum in the maintenance of high-quality education.
A selective group of academicians and private practitioners have appealed to the Prime Minister, Shahbaz Sharif to reconsider the decision of PM&DC to downgrade entry requirements of BDS.
The newly formed PMDC/PMC 9 members Core Group has decided that MDCAT Test Criteria announced by the Federal Health Minister, Qadir Patel, will have DCAT eligibility as 45% whereas for MBBS it continues to be 55%.
This can have far-reaching consequences especially at the time of government jobs where dentists today are inducted in grade 17, this may change in the future. The MBBS doctors are currently inducted in BS-18.
The official letter of appeal, drafted on behalf of the dental fraternity, addressing the Prime Minister and the President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, addresses three matters of grave concern, to which attention has been long overdue.
The first issue as the letter states is:
“DCAT Criteria of 45% for Dental Profession is an Embarrassment. This should be made equivalent to MCAT. That, Dental Profession should not be treated as a second-grade Health Profession.”
The appeal vehemently states that the lower admission criteria, coupled with four-year degree program as compared to the five-year degree program as well as higher admission criteria creates a clear divide between the two professions.
This is unjustified and highlights the dentistry profession as “second-grade”. The removal of the NLE has also further downgraded the quality of education in the dental profession. While the previous PMC had attempted to standardize dental professional education internationally and improve quality, the new regulatory body seems to be less interested in the betterment of the dental fraternity.
Speaking to Dr Yawar Ali Abidi, Dean, Faculty of Dentistry, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, he said “This will further destroy the dental professional education, as we have to work for the job opportunities for fresh graduates. We are currently producing 1000 fresh dental graduates every year, and this is just in Sindh.”
Regarding the affect this will have for job opportunities for dentists he added further “It is very disheartening for the fresh graduates as they are not getting jobs”.
Another former dean of a renowned dental college comments on the situation saying “psychologically, this will make the students feel degraded. The admission criteria should be the same for all health care professions, even for the pharmacy. The students should then be allowed to choose which profession they’re more passionate about.”
Dr Sameer Quraishi also gives his two cents on the matter stating “In my opinion, it is quite unfortunate for the dental profession. We are already short of avenues for new dentists. The number of dentists produced and the opportunity they have are quite less.
Furthermore, this will also dent the dental profession in terms of the quality of undergraduate students. To hold a high standard of health care to be at par with the world we should focus on quality not quantity”
Evidently, the issue requires immediate attention in order to rectify and revive the dental profession. Standardisation of dental education internationally seems far-fetched when even locally, the profession is shown to be depreciated.