The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has, for the second consecutive year, reduced the merit threshold for admissions, allowing a relaxation in MDCAT passing marks to fill vacant seats in private medical and dental colleges across the country.
According to a notification issued on Wednesday, the decision has been taken for the academic session 2025–26, permitting a reduction of up to 3 percentage points in the MDCAT passing criteria. Under the revised threshold, the minimum passing marks have been set at 52 per cent for MBBS and 47pc for BDS.
Last year, the council had allowed a greater relaxation, lowering the passing marks to 50pc for MBBS and 45pc for BDS. The notification stated that following deliberations at the national level, all admissions already completed under the Admission Regulations 2025 would remain valid and legally protected. It further directed that universities possessing an existing pool of eligible candidates must prioritise those students while filling vacant seats, particularly in private-sector medical and dental institutions.
The council noted that if seats remain unfilled even after exhausting the available pool, institutions may apply a one-time relaxation of up to 3pc in the MDCAT passing percentage to fill the remaining vacancies.
The PMDC emphasised that the concession would be limited strictly to vacant seats for the 2025-26 session and must be implemented with due regard to merit, transparency and institutional accountability.
Additionally, private institutions have been encouraged to consider reducing tuition fees from the currently capped structure in order to improve affordability and facilitate access to medical and dental education for deserving candidates.
The last date for admissions has been set as April 15, 2026. The provincial health departments and admitting universities have been directed to ensure full compliance with the instructions, warning that any violations would be dealt with under applicable laws and regulations.
