The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) on Thursday announced to provide a discount to medical and dental students in the registration fee for the National Licensing Examination (NLE).
The development resulted from a meeting in which medical students called on PMC President, Dr. Arshad Taqi, and senior PMC council members to discuss the NLE. SAPM on Health, Dr. Faisal Sultan, also attended the meeting at the special request of the PMC President.
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During the meeting, the students agreed with the concept of NLE and acknowledged that such an exam is essential in reconciling the quality of the country’s healthcare services with international standards.
However, the students conveyed to the PMC council that their only problem with the NLE is that it had been declared mandatory for all of them.
In response, Dr. Arshad clarified that PMC doesn’t have the authority to exempt anyone from NLE. Any medical student who has graduated after September 2020 is now required by the law to qualify the NLE in order to be granted a full license. Moreover, a recent judgment of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has also approved this scheme of the PMC.
The students then argued that in case they failed to pass the NLE on the first attempt, not only would it waste their six months but will also take a financial toll on them.
In response, the PMC council decided to provide a 100% discount to the first batch of students who have registered for the first NLE set to be held at the end of this month. The PMC also allowed failed students of the August 2021 session to reappear in the next NLE by paying only 25% of the registration fee.
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Students who will register for the NLE December 2021 session will also be given a 100% discount and failed students of this term will be charged 25% of the registration fee as well for retaking NLE.
Those who will register for the NLE June 2022 session will be given a 50% discount and failed students of this term will be charged only 50% of the registration fee for reappearing in the NLE.
The PMC council also clarified that NLE will be held four times a year; June, September, December, and March to facilitate students who can take the exam either during their house job or after its completion.
