ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on National Health considered a proposal to set the passing marks for medical college admissions at 50 percent after some colleges reportedly continued to have vacant seats despite a reduction in merit requirements.
The issue was discussed during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on National Health, chaired by MNA Mahesh Kumar.
The committee reviewed complaints regarding medical colleges allegedly charging fees above the permitted limit. The committee chairman said medical colleges could charge up to Rs1.8 million annually and asked for details of institutions accused of collecting higher fees.
He also questioned why seats remained vacant even after merit requirements had been lowered. He suggested considering a 50 percent passing threshold and reducing the proportion of difficult questions in the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) entrance test.
Federal Minister for Health said 61 medical colleges had applied for permission to increase their fees. He clarified that colleges could not increase fees at their own discretion and said only 35 of the 61 institutions had fulfilled the required conditions for a fee increase.
According to the minister, colleges that failed to meet the prescribed conditions would not be allowed to raise their fees.
The PMDC president told the committee that notices had been issued to medical colleges against which complaints of excessive fee collection had been received.
Committee member Mustafa Kamal said vacant seats were also a concern for the authorities. He pointed out that colleges charging around Rs3.5 million in fees had not faced vacant seats, arguing that if fees alone were the issue, higher-fee institutions would also have unfilled seats.
The PMDC president further informed the committee that 468 seats had been increased in government medical colleges in Punjab, while 315 seats had been added for the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
The committee chairman subsequently asked how many additional seats had been allocated in Sindh.