Punjab’s private medical colleges are set to face detailed inspections after hundreds of MBBS and BDS seats remained vacant, prompting a National Assembly standing committee to examine whether institutions have the resources to support their approved admission capacity.
More than 700 MBBS and BDS seats remained vacant in private colleges across Pakistan during the previous admission cycle, with over 600 of them in BDS programs. Punjab, which has the highest number of private medical and dental colleges in the country, accounted for a large share of the vacant seats.
The standing committee has ordered inspection teams to review private medical colleges, including their academic infrastructure, faculty, laboratories, teaching hospitals, clinical training facilities, student enrollment and compliance with regulatory standards.
The inspections will help determine whether colleges can justify the number of seats approved for them. The committee is considering withdrawing additional seats from institutions that fail to meet the required standards.
High tuition fees have also contributed to weaker demand for private medical education, while students have gained more opportunities through public sector institutions.
For the 2026 27 academic session, more than 500 additional MBBS and BDS seats have been created in government medical and dental colleges across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In Punjab’s ongoing admissions, private medical colleges had 426 vacant MBBS seats after the admission process concluded.
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