FMGs announce protest against PMDC over NRE results transparency
Nadeem Tanoli
Islamabad: Foreign Medical Graduates have announced a protest on 15 January outside the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council office and the Islamabad Press Club, accusing the regulator of running an opaque and unverifiable result system for the National Registration Examination. FMG representatives say candidates were denied basic result details, including marks, percentages, answer keys, and access to their own papers, leaving examinees unable to understand or challenge their outcomes in what they describe as a system devoid of transparency and accountability.
The dispute erupted after the announcement of results from a recent NRE Step-1 examination, which showed an unusually low success rate among candidates. According to figures shared by representatives of Foreign Medical Graduates, only a small fraction of examinees managed to clear the exam. Medical graduates recorded a pass rate slightly above one fifth, while dental graduates faced an even steeper decline, with only a handful qualifying. Protest leaders argue that these numbers alone justify an urgent review of the assessment process.
According to FMGs, candidates were issued pass or fail statuses without any disclosure of numerical scores or percentage breakdowns. No official answer keys were released, no carbon copies of answer sheets were provided, and no review mechanism was made available. FMGs argue that this absence of documentation has turned the evaluation process into a black box, causing widespread anxiety and uncertainty among candidates who have invested years in medical education abroad.
The protesting doctors have also raised legal and procedural questions, asking under which PMDC rules the results were issued and why examinees were allegedly denied access to their own marks and papers. FMG representatives maintain that without traceable scoring, published criteria, and a defined appeal pathway, the credibility of the examination process itself comes into question.
Beyond result transparency, FMGs have strongly objected to what they describe as the retrospective implementation of new policies. They argue that rule changes introduced after candidates have already entered the licensing pathway amount to unfair treatment and institutional inconsistency. The protesters are demanding that any new policy framework be applied prospectively to avoid disrupting careers midway through the process.
The protest call outlines several demands, including immediate disclosure of complete marks and percentages, publication of answer keys, provision of carbon copies, and the introduction of a fully computerized examination conducted multiple times annually. FMGs have also called for a clear passing threshold based on a fixed percentage benchmark, changes to the current evaluation methodology, and revised attempt policies for subsequent steps in the licensing process.
FMG representatives say the crisis extends beyond a single examination cycle. They point to prolonged uncertainty around clinical exposure opportunities, inconsistent guidance on house job placements, and limited direct communication from PMDC. According to them, this vacuum has forced graduates to rely on unofficial channels, increasing misinformation and deepening mistrust between candidates and the regulator.
The protest is being coordinated by named FMG representatives, including Dr Abdulrehman Gujjar, Dr Mian Danial Israr, Dr Samar Islam, Dr Hira Javed, and Dr Alee, who have appealed to parliamentarians, government authorities, and the media to intervene. They emphasize that the movement is not aimed at lowering professional standards but at securing a transparent, rule-based, and predictable pathway to medical registration.
When contacted for comment, a representative of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council told this correspondent that the matter had been forwarded to the concerned officer and that a response would be shared once received.
Read in Urdu: ایف ایم جیز کا این آر ای نتائج میں شفافیت نہ ہونے پر پی ایم ڈی سی کے خلاف احتجاج کا اعلان
