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LAHORE – The University of Health Sciences (UHS) has reinstated the 50 per cent passing marks and 75 per cent attendance requirements for all professional examinations, including MBBS and BDS programs, in line with the latest notification issued by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). The decision was made at the 93rd meeting of the UHS Syndicate held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Vice Chancellor Prof. Ahsan Waheed Rathore. The syndicate approved the implementation of PMDC’s revised criteria across all undergraduate programs. The new policy reverses the previous 65 per cent passing mark and 85 per cent attendance conditions introduced last year. The meeting also approved an extension in affiliation for several institutions, including the Central Park College of Allied Health Sciences for its BS programs, and endorsed the affiliation of the University of Child Health, Lahore, and the Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology for the MS Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgery program. In accordance with the Higher Education Commission’s revised Institutional Affiliation Policy 2024, the syndicate decided that all programs of affiliated medical colleges must be attached solely to UHS. It was noted that some colleges had been running programs such as Allied Health Sciences and nursing in affiliation with other universities. The syndicate members expressed satisfaction over the positive response from colleges after UHS directed them to comply with the new HEC policy. The Vice Chancellor was authorised to complete the affiliation process of such institutions on priority. To curb cyber-based cheating, the syndicate approved a new Policy for the Prevention of Cyber-Based Cheating in Examinations, which strictly prohibits electronic devices inside examination halls. It also approved new terms of reference for supervisory staff, outlining responsibilities of superintendents, invigilators, and censors. On the recommendation of the Academic Council, the syndicate approved shifting all written (theory) examinations to a multiple-choice question (MCQ)-only format from next year to ensure transparency and objectivity. Four new postgraduate programs, MD Haematology, MD Microbiology, MD Histopathology, and MS Glaucoma, were also approved. Prof. Iqbal Hussain Dogar and Prof. Farooq Ahmad Rana were nominated as members of the Discipline Committee, while the new members appointed to the Board of Studies in Medicine include Prof. Tahir Siddique, Prof. Ajmal Farooq, Prof. Khadija Irfan Khawaja, Prof. Ahmad Alamgir, and Prof. Shazia Nilofar Ibnerasa.
