Karachi (HRNW): Despite a relaxation in merit criteria and a 45-day admission extension, a total of 743 seats in medical and dental colleges across Pakistan remained vacant for the academic year 2025-26 due to a lack of interest among Pakistani students.
Breakdown of Vacant Seats and Relaxed Merit
Across the country, there are over 22,300 seats distributed among 187 medical and dental colleges. Out of the 743 total vacant seats, 608 belong to Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) programs, while 135 are for Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programs.
In an effort to fill these seats, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) had lowered the minimum passing merit:
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MBBS Merit: Reduced from 55% to 52%
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BDS Merit: Reduced from 50% to 47%
Provincial Statistics and MDCAT Results
The regional distribution of the unfilled seats is as follows:
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Punjab: 381 seats
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Sindh: 295 seats
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Islamabad: 50 seats
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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 17 seats
This vacancy comes as a surprise given that more than 140,000 students registered for the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT), out of which approximately 90,000 candidates passed. Despite this large pool of successful candidates, hundreds of seats still failed to secure enrollments.
Faculty Shortages and Brain Drain
According to PMDC, the medical education sector is also grappling with a severe shortage of academic staff. The country faces a deficit of 3,872 medical teachers; against a required strength of 26,018 teachers, only 22,146 faculty members are currently available.
Concurrently, around 25,000 to 30,000 Pakistani students are currently pursuing their medical and dental education abroad. Consequently, the PMDC had earlier recommended a ban on the establishment of new medical and dental colleges as well as any further increases in seat quotas.
Expert Analysis
Education and medical experts point out that the primary drivers behind the vacant seats include high tuition fees, concerns over the quality of education, and growing uncertainties regarding future career and employment opportunities for medical graduates within the country.
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