The overseas Pakistanis have demanding since long to increase the number of seats reserved for their children in the public sector medical and dental colleges of Punjab but to no avail. However, they have now appealed directly to Prime Minister Imran Khan so heard their demand is heard.
They say that the number of seats for the children of overseas Pakistanis/ dual nationals should be increased to 300 MBBS + 50 BDS from the present level of 76 available to them in the public sector medical colleges in Punjab.
The reason is simple: more and more parents are willing to send their children to Pakistan as they are unable to pay the unbearable cost of education in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.
This, they say, will be a great step to acknowledge the contribution of overseas Pakistanis / dual nationals settled abroad by any reason. They have also suggested that the government should also consider increasing in the seats for local students, especially in Punjab due to its population.
But there is another problem too – the exorbitant fee charged by the private medical colleges – amid the devaluation of rupee which, of course, was considered a panacea for all the economic issues Pakistan is facing.
Last year, the government had allowed private medical colleges to reserve 10 per cent seats for the overseas Pakistanis’ children/ dual nationals, but the fee currently charged is $18,000 or the equivalent in Pakistan rupee per year. Since the dollar price is on the rise, the parents cannot pay such a huge fee. Hence, it is another reason to press more seats in the state-run institutions.