The Punjab Health Department has written a letter to the President of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council regarding a 3 percent reduction in the MDCAT threshold.
The letter also refers to PMDC’s notification dated April 8, 2026, number PF-1-C/2026/Council/Notification/1108.
The provincial admission committee reviewed the notification issued by PMDC regarding a 3 percent reduction in the MDCAT threshold for MBBS and BDS respectively, during its meeting held on April 13, 2026.
According to the letter, the Provincial Admission Committee PAC expressed serious concerns over the reduction in merit percentage for admissions in MBBS and BDS, stating that this step has primarily been taken to fill vacant seats in the private sector for the academic year 2025-26.
The committee also reviewed that earlier in 2025, serious concerns had been raised over a 5 percent reduction in the MDCAT threshold proposed by PMDC for MBBS and BDS admissions. However, at that time the Provincial Admission Committee did not agree and informed PMDC through letter number SO(ME-II)2-1/2023 dated May 14, 2025.
On the other hand, the committee also reviewed the data provided by the admitting university UHS.
The letter stated that according to the data, 47,721 candidates appeared in the MDCAT in Punjab this year, out of which 39,648 candidates met the 55 percent threshold for MBBS, while 42,048 candidates met the 50 percent threshold for BDS.
However, only 7,987 candidates applied for admission to MBBS, which shows that a large number of eligible candidates exist, therefore there is no reasonable justification for relaxing the MDCAT threshold.
The committee further stated that high fees of private medical and dental colleges are also a major reason that prevents eligible candidates from seeking admission in the private sector.
The Health Department in its letter also stated that since this is an academic matter, it should have been placed before the academic board and then presented in the full council meeting, however this was not done in this case.
Furthermore, the letter emphasized that in view of the above points, the unanimous stance of the Provincial Admission Committee is that reducing the MDCAT threshold is not appropriate in the interest of maintaining the standard of medical education in the country.
