Pakistan’s medical colleges face empty seats: PMDC extends admissions until March 31
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s medical education sector is confronting an unusual challenge: a growing number of empty seats in colleges that once turned away thousands of applicants each year. Institutions across the country are now scrambling to attract students, forcing regulators to intervene to prevent large-scale seat wastage.
In response to mounting pressure from universities and provincial authorities, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council has announced an extension of the admission deadline for all public and private medical and dental colleges until 31 March 2026. Officials have made it clear that no further extensions will be granted.
The decision was approved at a PMDC council meeting held on 10 February and applies to the 2025–26 academic session nationwide. Admissions must continue under the framework of the PMDC Admissions Regulations 2025.
Punjab’s numbers expose the scale
The extent of the problem is most visible in Punjab, where hundreds of seats in private medical colleges remain unoccupied despite multiple merit lists.
According to figures released by the University of Health Sciences (UHS), Lahore, a total of 4,350 MBBS seats were offered across 33 private institutions. Even after the fifth and final selection list, 426 seats remained vacant.
Regulators were further concerned by the fact that 317 students withdrew after initially enrolling, indicating not just weak demand but second thoughts about committing to a medical career.
Merit patterns also showed a sharp divide. Top-tier colleges closed admissions above 88 to 90 percent merit, while some struggled to attract students even at around 60 percent, highlighting widening trust and quality gaps within the private sector.
Sindh seeks policy relief
A similar situation has emerged in Sindh, where Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University formally alerted PMDC after roughly 350 MBBS seats remained unfilled in private institutions.
In its communication, the university proposed a relaxation in eligibility standards, recommending a 10 percent reduction in minimum marks:
- MBBS eligibility from 55 percent to 45 percent
- BDS eligibility from 50 percent to 40 percent
University officials pointed out that last year’s limited relaxation helped prevent significant seat loss and warned that the current academic year faces an even more severe shortage of eligible candidates.
Why medicine is losing its pull
Education analysts say the crisis reflects changing student priorities and growing doubts about medical careers.
One major concern is employment. Newly graduated doctors increasingly struggle to secure stable posts, often relying on temporary contracts or waiting years for postgraduate training placements.
Cost is another critical factor. Despite official fee limits, families report additional charges that drive the total expense of private medical education into the millions of rupees over five years. With job prospects uncertain, many parents are no longer convinced that medicine offers a reliable return on investment.
A policy red flag
Experts caution that the situation signals deeper structural problems. Pakistan has expanded medical colleges rapidly over the past decade, but hospital capacity, specialist training slots, and long-term employment pathways have not grown at the same pace.
There are rising calls for stronger enforcement of fee regulations, transparent financial reporting by private colleges, and clearer career guidance for pre-medical students. Without accurate data on workforce demand and postgraduate opportunities, families continue to make decisions based on outdated assumptions about guaranteed prestige and income.
The road ahead
For now, institutions have been given one final opportunity to fill vacant seats under PMDC supervision before the 31 March cutoff. Whether the extended deadline will be enough to reverse the trend remains uncertain.
What is increasingly clear, however, is that empty lecture halls are no longer an exception in Pakistan’s medical colleges. They represent a shift in how young people view the profession — and a challenge policymakers can no longer afford to ignore.
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