Peshawar: The graduates of the Medical and Dental College in Khyber Pakhtunkwa province have far more vacancies than government positions, spreading depression among young doctors.
According to the only university admitted to these institutions, the province has 20 medical and 11 dental colleges in the public and private sectors, with about 2,900 graduates each year.
KMU conducts the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) annually on behalf of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.
According to health officials, MBBS seats in the private sector totaled 1.454, while 10 medical schools and six dental colleges accounted for 1,425 students.
They told dawn Those who hold the highest position on the “good list” after attending public colleges at MDCAT are “somewhat affordable” at the annual fee. Officials say many people with money have gained administration at private universities after failing to secure seats in public medical schools and paying about Rs 20 lakh a year and other festivals.
They insist that the administrative expenses of a private student in the private college of medicine and dentistry are about Rs 10 million, but the number of work in the government and private sectors is “shrinking”.
Data obtained from the Health Department’s Health Department’s Department of Reform shows that the province has more than 2,500 medical facilities, including 2,438 primary care centers and 128 A, B, C and D hospitals, including regional hospitals, including 90,000 employees. Included are 8,052 medical staff, 561 management cadre doctors and 662 dentists.
Doctors complain about the unplanned medical school, which they say is producing about 2,900 graduates each year, but the department has only a dozen positions, so the number of unemployed medical staff is increasing.
They also say that increasing number of medical and dental graduates come from China and Central Asian countries every year, exacerbating the job crisis.
Doctors claimed that in June last year, 81% of candidates were unable to pass written tests conducted by the Education and Assessment Agency for the vacancies of the Education Bureau of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
They said the Ethea Hero test was conducted on 8,974 students, but only 1.766 of them were still successful.
The doctor said the failed candidates had to choose private sector jobs.
One doctor said he spent more than Rs 15 million from a doctor in a private medical school but received a salary of Rs 40,000 at a private hospital after graduation and he was not allowed to take leave during a two-month probation period.
He insists that some graduates are paid between Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000 a month.
Experts ask governments and regulators to simplify medical education.
They said there is a plan where students with a second division in the FSC exam can sit in the MDCAT.
“This option is considered unfilled as many private medical schools failed to fill their student quotas last year,” a senior educator told Dawn.
He said that students who scored lower on the FSC exam also affect standard medical and dental graduates, and also the “unemployment pool.”
Experts say hospitals are not able to provide standardized training facilities for graduates of hospitals during family work, so the government should not increase medical school seats and build more universities.
They called for government measures to ensure that teaching standards in medical and dental schools are improved.
Posted in Dawn on September 28, 2025
