PMDC lowers merit once to fill vacant private medical college seats

ISLAMABAD: A drop in admissions to private medical and dental colleges has brought attention to what officials and analysts describe as a worsening affordability problem, leading the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to grant a one-time reduction in the minimum merit required to fill vacant seats.

According to a PMDC notification, the minimum merit for MBBS admissions has been cut from 55 per cent to 52 per cent, while the threshold for BDS programmes has been reduced from 50 per cent to 47 per cent. The council said the relaxation will apply only to seats that remain unfilled and will not become a permanent policy.

The decision came after a number of private colleges, especially in Lahore and other major cities, were unable to fill their allocated seats even after the completion of regular admission rounds.

In the education sector, the institutions were facing difficulty attracting students mainly because of high tuition charges, which have pushed medical education beyond the reach of many middle-income households.

A PMDC official, speaking on condition of anonymity with The Express Tribune, said the regulator had limited room to manoeuvre because the situation threatened to create financial pressure on institutions while also shrinking opportunities for students seeking admission to medical programmes. "This is not about lowering standards permanently as it is a targeted one-time adjustment to ensure that available seats do not go to waste while still maintaining a reasonable academic threshold, the official explained."

Investigations cited in the report indicate that the cost of studying for an MBBS degree at private colleges has risen sharply in recent years. Annual fees amounting to millions of rupees, along with other associated expenses, have discouraged even candidates who meet academic requirements from applying.

Education analysts said the central issue is not merit alone but access based on affordability. A senior official in Punjab’s Higher Education Department said the situation points to a broader structural imbalance.

Admissions to remain under monitoring

The PMDC said the reduced merit would only be used after the existing pool of qualifying candidates had been exhausted. Colleges would not be permitted to sidestep standard procedures and that all admissions must continue to be carried out strictly on merit and in a transparent way.

In its directive, the council also advised private medical and dental colleges to reassess their fee structures and consider lowering them to improve access to medical education. The regulator further warned that the entire admissions process would remain under strict monitoring to prevent any misuse of the one-time relaxation.

Stakeholders said the development has also renewed concerns over the commercialisation of medical education. Over recent years, tuition fees have increased amid rising operational costs and growing demand for better facilities, though critics argue that weak regulation has allowed charges to rise without effective checks.

Parents and students have reacted differently to the move. Some have viewed the reduced merit threshold as an opportunity for candidates who narrowly missed the earlier requirement, while others have expressed concern that it could affect the quality of future healthcare professionals if not managed carefully.

The Punjab Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department also sent a letter to the PMDC president regarding the 3 per cent reduction in the MDCAT threshold. The PMDC notification was reviewed by the Provincial Admissions Committee, which expressed reservations about lowering the merit percentage for MBBS and BDS admissions.