Dual domicile row hits Karachi medical colleges

KARACHI: A shocking revelation has emerged in Karachi’s medical colleges, where more than 100 students from out of the city have secured admissions using dual domiciles, ARY News reported.

The students, hailed from interior Sindh, Punjab, and Islamabad failed to secure admission in interior last year, obtained Karachi domiciles to gain admission this year.

According to sources, most of Karachi’s fake domicile certificates were issued from the city’s East district. Interestingly, these students completed their matriculation and intermediate studies outside Karachi.

The sources added that some students were found to possess Punjab domicile certificates, which they later replaced with Sindh ones.

The online domicile system in Punjab has helped uncover these forgeries, whereas Sindh’s offline system has made it challenging to verify dual documents.

This has resulted in students from other provinces and federal areas securing admissions in Karachi’s medical colleges, while local students are being denied admission due to the provincial government’s domicile policy.

In one notable case, a student who topped in Karachi had completed their matriculation and intermediate studies from the Islamabad Board and later obtained a Karachi domicile to secure admission in Dow Medical University.

Meanwhile, the university administration claims to have withheld 30 admissions due to dual domicile certificates.

Earlier, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) ‘decided’ to conduct inspections of all medical and dental colleges across the country

As per details, the government has directed Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) will carry out the inspections, covering both public and private sector institutions.

According to sources, master trainers have been fully trained to oversee the process and will now train inspectors for on-ground evaluations.

During the inspections, college standards, infrastructure, and faculty quality will be assessed. However, non-compliant institutions will not face immediate penalties. Instead, they will be given a six-month grace period to improve their standards.