29 medals but jobless: MBBS graduate talks about ‘sifarish’ culture

Dr Hafiz Waleed Malik — who graduated with an MBBS degree last year — has won 29 gold medals for topping in various subjects. However, he has revealed that he hasn’t gotten any job in any hospital yet. 

A few days ago, Dr Malik responded to a question on Instagram, saying that he had applied to multiple hospitals but did not get a job. He also said that the situation of jobs is on sifarish rather than merit. 

“Applied for 20+ hospitals, didn’t get job. Situation of jobs is 99% sifarish and 1% merit. I might be wrong but that’s what I observed. Only the merit should prevail but this system is beyond repair,” he had said.

Soon after, people took a screenshot of his story which went viral in no time. 

Speaking to BBC, Dr Malik said that he completed his MBBS from Amiruddin Medical College in Lahore last year and then did a house job at the Lahore General Hospital.

“When my house job ended, I started applying to private hospitals. The recruitment in government hospitals hadn’t started yet,” said the 24-year-old. 

Commenting on the recommendation culture that hinders jobs in the field of medicine in Pakistan, Dr Malik said: “Usually job positions are not vacant in private hospitals, and even if they are available, medical graduates are hired on the recommendation of professors.” 

“I think there is a culture of getting jobs through recommendations. This is a reality.” 

He further told BBC that the “sifarish culture” is a reality in the country — both for a normal student and for a topper. He said that he did not want to go viral on social media. 

Dr Malik said that things should be neutral in public and private instit