UHS Sets 90% Attendance and 70% Passing Marks for Medical and Dental Students

The University of Health Sciences (UHS) Syndicate, in its 85th meeting on Monday, approved new academic regulations for medical and dental students. Chaired by Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Ahsan Waheed Rathore, the meeting endorsed implementing a minimum 90% attendance requirement and a 70% passing mark criterion, per the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) notification. These regulations will take effect from the 2024-25 academic session.

Under the revised policy, students with less than 90% attendance will not be eligible to appear in the annual examinations. Additionally, candidates must secure at least 70% marks to pass the professional examinations.

These regulations will take effect from the academic session 2024-25 and will apply exclusively to newly admitted MBBS and BDS first-year students. Students already enrolled in ongoing sessions will not be affected. Currently, medical and dental colleges’ minimum attendance requirement is 85%, while the passing marks threshold is 50%.

During the meeting, Dr. Zahid Pervaiz was nominated as a UHS Finance and Planning Committee member. Furthermore, in line with a recent PM&DC notification, the MBBS seat capacity of two private medical colleges—Sahara Medical College, Narowal, and Sharif Medical College, Lahore—has been increased from 100 to 150.

The meeting was attended by Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof. Nadia Naseem, Dr. Zahid Pervaiz, and Registrar Kiran Fatima. Prof. Arshad Cheema and Prof. Maryam Malik, along with representatives from the Punjab Specialized Healthcare and Finance Departments, participated virtually.