A nationwide medical entry test was held by the authorities recently in November, and an overwhelming number of aspirants took the test. A staggering number of 46,232 candidates took the medical entry test in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), some more than 80,000 in Punjab, and so forth. Seats on the other hand are very limited with nearly 1500 public sector medical colleges in KP and approximately 3000 in Punjab. Albeit the patient-to-doctor ratio is relatively high in the region, the government job vacancies for graduated doctors are intensively low. Though the step of the inauguration of new medical colleges subscribes to the wishes of the general public, the far-reaching impacts of unemployment that have to follow are never kept on notice, either due to the lack of vision or to get the popular support for the vote bank. There is a substantial disparity between the number of doctors produced per annum and the jobs available for them, which marks an inevitable vicious cycle.
This maladministration has severe repercussions. First and foremost is the prevailing trend of Pakistan’s newly graduated doctors fleeing the country in an anticipation of a better future vis-à-vis a job and handsome pay. Keeping in perspective various insecurities rooted in the bad governance, hundreds of young talented doctors despite paying back to the mother country, depart. The departure of such a capable and refined lot has manifested to intensify not only the prevailing health issues but also the lack of faith in the government and its institutions.
Second, in the never-ending list of such snags is the strategic shift in the nature for which doctors are produced in the country versus a few decades ago. Previously, when this occupation was actually worth the hype, was when doctors graduated to cure the miseries of the nation. The prevailing circumstances are otherwise as the doctors are a product of a business. With the massive number of private medical colleges inaugurated, the state is manoeuvring this sacred task of producing doctors into a business. The same doctors charge loads of money when themselves at the helm. Well aware of the fact that job opportunities are egregiously limited for doctors, the state values the business nature of this affair more.
Third, last in the list but not least, the implication is switching the profession, which is the least noted. After years of blood and sweat and sleepless nights spent to one day cure the diseased, the last thing a doctor would want to confront is switching off the profession for the sake of solely making the ends meet. There is an appreciable number of such precedents. With more than 140 active medical colleges producing doctors, and their unplanned future by the state, this is a bound-to-happen event.
With the yearly-usual event of bulking the fees of the private medical colleges as well as the self-finance, the stakeholders are worsening the crisis. This makes this degree more of a purchase and less of a token of meritocracy. Hence, already surrounded by wealth, these students become doctors for title and prestige. Class conflict and monopoly of money prevail, and justice for merit dies.
The government of Pakistan in general, and of the provinces, needs to underscore this emergency. Issuing health cards and announcing free health policies will not cater to all health-related issues. Losing a colossal proportion of self-made talent is the worst possible happening for a developing state to undergo, the aftermath of which is horrible. The leadership, under the ambit of the law, should take radical steps to rejuvenate this sacred occupation as a symbol of merit and value. Enchanting incentives for doctors should be made prevalent to attenuate the complication of foreign occupation. In this weak phase of our history, where our country is already trouble-stricken, Pakistan cannot afford this predicament. To stay aloof from these health departments’ aggravations, the concerned governing bodies should identify all the maladies and workout remedies.