LAHORE:The Department of Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education has written a letter to the President Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) regarding 3% reduction in MDCAT threshold. The letter also refers to PMDC’s notification number PF-1-C/2026/Council/Notification/1108 dated April 8, 2026.
The notification issued by PMDC regarding reduction in MDCAT threshold by 3% for MBBS and BDS respectively was reviewed by the Provincial Admissions Committee (PAC) in its meeting dated April 13, 2026. The PAC expressed serious reservations over the reduction in merit percentage for admission to MBBS and BDS.
The letter further stated that this step has been taken primarily to fill up the vacant seats in the private sector for the academic year 2025-26. The committee also reviewed the fact that earlier in 2025 also, serious reservations were expressed over the reduction in MDCAT threshold by 5% which was proposed by PMDC for MBBS and BDS admissions.
However, the PAC did not agree to this at that time and PMDC was informed in this regard vide letter No. SO(ME-II)2-1/2023 dated May 14, 2025. The committee also reviewed the data provided by the admitting University (UHS).
According to the data, 47,721 candidates appeared for MDCAT in Punjab this year, out of which 39,648 candidates met the 55% threshold for MBBS, while 42,048 candidates met the 50% threshold for BDS. However, only 7,987 candidates applied for admission to MBBS. This shows that there is a large number of eligible candidates, so there is no valid reason for relaxation in the MDCAT threshold.
The committee further opined that high fees of private medical and dental colleges are also a major reason, which deters eligible candidates from taking admission in the private sector. The committee also observed that since this matter is of academic nature, it should have been taken up for consideration by the Academic Board and later placed before the full council meeting, but this was not done in this case.
In view of the above points, the PAC is of the unanimous view that it is not appropriate to reduce the MDCAT threshold in the interest of maintaining the standard of medical education in the country.
