Maldives Medical and Dental Council (MMDC) has unanimously decided to remove pre-medicine from its minimum entry criteria for basic medical and dental programmes.
However, the decision will not apply to students who are already enrolled in Pre-Medicine or Foundation programmes or those who have completed such a programme, according to MMDC.
MMDC advised such applicants to follow the guideline to recognise pre-med foundation courses published on its website. Moreover, the decision will only be applicable for students who applied from January 14 onwards.
Pre-medicine course is a one year programme, which is a replacement for GCE A' Level, for students who are interested in medicine. In a statement, MMDC revealed it has identified the academic level of students are low, as in some countries, pre-medicine courses are framed below the required standards.
MMDC added some countries only conduct six month courses, even though the programme must at least be conducted for a year. MMDC noted world renowned countries also does not support the pre-medicine programme.