The Punjab Department of Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education has raised objections to a decision by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council to reduce the MDCAT threshold by 3 percent for MBBS and BDS admissions.
In a letter addressed to the PMDC president, the department referred to the council’s notification issued on April 8, 2026 regarding the reduction in the minimum merit requirement.
The matter was reviewed by the Provincial Admissions Committee (PAC) in its meeting held on April 13, where members expressed serious reservations over lowering the merit threshold.
According to the letter, the reduction appears to have been introduced primarily to fill vacant seats in private medical and dental colleges for the academic year 2025-26.
The committee also noted that a similar proposal to reduce the MDCAT threshold by 5 percent in 2025 had earlier been rejected, with concerns formally communicated to the council at the time.
Data presented by the admitting university showed that 47,721 candidates appeared in the MDCAT in Punjab this year. Of these, 39,648 candidates met the 55 percent requirement for MBBS, while 42,048 met the 50 percent threshold for BDS. However, only 7,987 candidates applied for MBBS admissions.
The committee observed that the large number of eligible candidates indicates no justification for lowering the merit requirement. It further pointed out that high fees in private medical and dental colleges remain a key factor discouraging admissions.
The PAC also raised procedural concerns, stating that the matter should have been reviewed by the Academic Board before being placed before the full council, which was not done. In light of these concerns, the committee unanimously opposed the reduction, stating that lowering the MDCAT threshold would compromise the standard of medical education.
