Pakistan’s medical education system is facing a deepening structural crisis as official figures revealed that nearly 74,000 students who passed the MDCAT 2025 remain without admission, despite qualifying for medical and dental colleges. Thousands of Pakistani students have to seek admissions in Central Asian and other countries to continue their education in Medical only to fulfil their dreams of becoming a Doctor.
The disclosure came during a Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination review, exposing policy loopholes, wasted seats, and an annual foreign exchange loss of nearly $800 million as students are forced to seek education abroad.
According to data presented to the committee, around 96,000 candidates cleared MDCAT this year, while Pakistan has only about 22,000 MBBS and BDS seats nationwide.
Of the remaining students, officials estimated that approximately 40,000 go overseas every year, many to low quality institutions, draining national resources and creating future licensing risks.
At the center of the crisis is the three year validity of MDCAT results, which allows students to reuse old scores to upgrade admissions. The committee chair strongly criticized the policy, stating that carrying forward previous years’ results has created administrative disorder, vacant seats, and financial losses for institutions.
Officials from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and the Ministry acknowledged the problem and confirmed that a draft policy has been prepared to restrict MDCAT validity to one year only. However, they said the current admission cycle is still bound by existing law, as amendments to PMDC bylaws have not yet been formally approved.
The Ministry confirmed that the draft amendment has been sent to the Law Ministry, with the intention that from next year onward only the fresh MDCAT result will be valid, permanently ending the backlog system.Vice chancellors from across the country painted a stark picture of the consequences.
Prof from LUMHS Larkana reported that her dental college has been reduced to just 15 students in a batch, after most students upgraded to MBBS programs elsewhere using valid MDCAT scores.
Prof from UHS Lahore confirmed that 10 to 15 seats per college fall vacant every year, remaining unused until migration is allowed in later years. In contrast, Balochistan fills such vacancies immediately using waiting lists, preventing wastage, an approach currently barred under PMDC rules in other provinces.
Dr. Tanveer Khaliq of SZABMU clarified that under the existing PMDC Act, waiting lists can only be used for first year admissions, making second year seat filling legally questionable.
To address the immediate fallout, the committee directed the Ministry to seek an urgent legal opinion within one week on whether vacated dental seats can be filled using waiting lists under an exceptional arrangement.
The Chairman Dr. Mahesh Kumar Malani of committee also ordered PMDC to submit comprehensive data for the past years, detailing exactly how many seats remained vacant due to the three year MDCAT validity rule.
Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal warned that the admission gap is pushing students toward substandard medical colleges abroad, particularly in Central Asia.
He informed the committee that PMDC is finalizing a list of recognized foreign institutions, cautioning students that degrees from unlisted universities may result in failure in Pakistan’s National Registration Examination (NRE).
The committee and the Ministry agreed to fast track legislative amendments to the PMDC Act, formally enforcing one year MDCAT validity to stabilize admissions, protect merit, prevent seat wastage, and curb the growing outflow of students and capital.
They can seek admissions in private medical colleges of Pakistan ?
NO , for three main reasons ; 1- Their fee is far out of the financial capacities of the parents 2- Their standard of education is not up to the satisfaction 3- They themselves are in crisis for the reasons they mentioned in an appeal to the high ups
Walk into any private medical college today, and behind the busy classrooms and white coats, you’ll find anxiety and despair. Faculty salaries are delayed, budgets are slashed, and administrators whisper about shutting down programs. Their biggest complaint? The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC)—the very body meant to help them, is slowly choking them instead.
