Foreign medical graduates staged a protest in front of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMandDC) who failed the National Ranking Exam (NRE) exam demanding that the passing marks for the National Examination Board (NEB) exam be reduced from 70 percent to 50 percent.

President PMDC Prof. Dr. Rizwan Taj met the delegation of foreign medical graduates at 10:30 am. He heard the concerns of the graduates and apprised them that it was the decision of the academic board to set passing marks at 70 percent.

He added that the demand of the students would be considered but it could not be implemented on an exam which had already been held. He assured them that the matter will be placed before the Council for further deliberation and decision at the earliest.

The NRE exam was conducted by the National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) transparently under the supervision of PMDC. The result was received from NUMS and was uploaded on the PMDC website the same day. The NRE exam was conducted in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Karachi, and Peshawar to facilitate the graduates.

He also added that the PMDC Academic Board has been formed, and the board will from now on look after all the examination matters of NRE, NEB, and MDCAT.

President added that the purpose of conducting the NRE exam is to ensure the selection of qualified doctors for patients in Pakistan. This examination is to keep patient safety in mind and precious lives of people cannot be put in the hands of unqualified doctors /graduates. PMDC is a responsible organization that believes in adherence to rules and regulations.

During the protest, the Registrar directed the staff to let the graduates peacefully protest and offered them water, and directed the staff to avoid any type of inconvenience.

Examinations for foreign graduates are conducted all over the world with the aim of getting the most qualified doctors.

Source: Pro Pakistani