KARACHI: As government medical colleges offer limited seats, the growing dependence on private institutions for MBBS education is making the dream of becoming a doctor unaffordable for many Pakistani families.
In 2019, private colleges were instructed to charge a total of Rs5 million for the five-year MBBS program. While the cap was followed for two years, several colleges are now demanding between Rs10 million and Rs15 million in tuition alone. Students also incur up to Rs2 million in additional costs for books, transport, uniforms, and living expenses over the five years.
Beenish, a student who failed to secure admission to a government college, said she paid Rs2.2 million as first-year fees to a private institute and was also asked for an unofficial donation. She added that annual transport charges of Rs100,000 and a monthly hostel fee of Rs50,000 further burden her family, who are under immense financial stress.
Ali Murtaza, a second-year student, criticized the fee hikes, saying colleges are charging arbitrarily despite incomplete faculty. He noted that private colleges hold a monopoly and that medical education is now inaccessible for students from lower and middle-income families.
Former Dow University dean Muhammad Zia Iqbal said the commercialization of medical education stems from the lack of regulation by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). He claimed that in the absence of a uniform fee structure, annual charges in private colleges have risen by 200 percent.
Following the dissolution of PMDC, the Pakistan Medical Council divided colleges into three tiers, granting them autonomy over fee structures. Some colleges now increase fees by 10 to 20 percent annually. One Karachi-based international medical college is reportedly charging $90,000 for a five-year MBBS degree.
In contrast, the number of available seats in government colleges remains limited. In Sindh, there are only 2,450 MBBS seats across 12 medical colleges, seven dental colleges, and six medical universities.
The PMDC had issued a public notice on January 8, 2025, instructing private colleges not to collect fees for the 2024-25 session until the Prime Minister’s Medical Education Committee makes a formal decision on tuition fees. However, the directive appears to have had little impact amid continued fee hikes and lack of enforcement.
