The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has strongly condemned the new directive from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) that lowers the passing criteria for admission into medical and dental schools. The PMA has warned that this move prioritizes the financial interests of private institutions over national health standards.
In a statement issued following the PMDC’s notification of April 8, 2026, the PMA expressed “severe disappointment and deep concern” over the decision to reduce the passing percentage for MBBS to 50% and for BDS to 45%.
The association called this policy a “short-sighted and unwise move,” stating that it fails to address the root cause of vacant seats in medical colleges, which is the exorbitantly high cost of education. The PMA maintains that seats remain vacant not due to a lack of qualified candidates, but because tuition fees have become an unbearable financial burden for the common citizen.
According to the PMA, the PMDC’s new policy appears to be a “money-making” strategy rather than one aimed at elevating educational standards. The medical body asserted that lowering admission criteria to fill vacant seats is a tactic to safeguard the revenue of private colleges, which goes against a regulatory body’s primary responsibility of maintaining the standards of the medical profession.
The association questioned the fairness of the new rule for students from previous years who had scored above the new criteria but were denied admission under stricter standards. “If this reduction in criteria is genuinely justified today, then the first opportunity should be given to those talented students who achieved these scores in the past but were deprived of admission,” the statement said, calling the change an “insult to past merit.”
A key concern was raised that this decision sets a “dangerous precedent,” which could lead to a gradual decline in educational standards and make it impossible to maintain credible merit-based criteria in the future.
The PMA described it as “extremely regrettable” that future doctors could be admitted with scores lower than the entry requirements for some non-medical fields. It stressed that medicine, a profession directly linked to “life and death,” cannot be held to a lower academic standard than general degree programs.
The statement highlighted that exorbitant fees are a major barrier for bright students from less privileged backgrounds. “Many capable but poor students are forced to abandon their dreams, while seats are being given to students who may not meet the real merit but simply have financial resources,” the PMA said.
In response, the PMA has put forward clear demands, starting with the immediate withdrawal of the notification. The association insists that the PMDC should instead focus on providing scholarships and capping fees to create opportunities for talented but financially disadvantaged students.
Furthermore, the PMA has called on the regulatory body to rationalize the fee structures of medical colleges to ensure that the decision to become a doctor is driven by merit, not wealth. It also warned that such decisions could damage the international reputation of Pakistan’s medical degrees and urged the PMDC to take steps to protect the country’s academic prestige globally.
Concluding its stance, PMA (Centre) Secretary General Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro reiterated the association’s commitment to protecting quality medical education. “We will not, under any circumstances, allow the medical profession to become a commercial commodity, as this matter is directly linked to the future of our youth and the health of the nation.”