ISLAMABAD (Lord Media): The National Assembly Standing Committee on Health on Wednesday raised concerns over private medical colleges allegedly charging fees beyond prescribed limits, while also addressing the delay in extending the validity of Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) results to three years.

The committee, chaired by Dr Mahesh Kumar, was informed by Health Minister Mustafa Kamal that the proposal to extend MDCAT validity had been approved by his ministry and referred to the federal cabinet.

Dr Shazia Soomro, a committee member, revealed that 45 private medical colleges were demanding additional fees from students, with some charging up to Rs600,000 more than the approved amount.

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) president stated that show-cause notices had been issued to the colleges involved, and the committee requested inspection reports from the past two years.

A separate discussion between the health minister and Dr Soomro highlighted the lack of action on the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) inquiry report, with Dr Soomro demanding an audit of the Rs22 billion allocated to the hospital over three years.

Minister Kamal responded that the Ministry of Health had implemented its inquiry recommendations, with further investigations assigned to the Ministry of Interior.