The government has capped annual fees at private medical colleges and barred institutions from charging more without authorisation, Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal told the National Assembly on August 25, 2026. The announcement also included the launch of a complaint portal for students and parents, and a three-year moratorium on the establishment of new private medical colleges.

Fee structure and approval process

A committee formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif initially set the annual fee at Rs1.8 million per student. Several institutions challenged the cap, arguing that their higher fees reflected better facilities, services, and operating costs. The committee asked colleges seeking an increase to submit documentary evidence.

According to Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services Nelson Azeem, 61 medical colleges filed appeals. After reviewing the submissions, the committee accepted the justification provided by 35 institutions and allowed them to charge up to Rs2.1 million annually. The remaining institutions are required to adhere to the prescribed fee structure. The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) issued a notification on August 4, 2026, listing approved fee caps for individual institutions.

Health Minister Kamal clarified that no medical or dental college could charge or increase fees on its own. He also said that some colleges had been allowed to charge up to Rs2.5 million based on their expenses and quality of education, according to the Dawn newspaper report of the assembly session.

Complaint portal and enforcement

The government has established a portal where students and parents can lodge complaints regarding excessive fees or other issues involving medical colleges. The PMDC website hosts an online complaint form at pmdc.pk/ContactUs/Complaint for complaints against licensed practitioners or recognised medical and dental colleges.

Authorities have issued notices to 45 institutions, warning that action would follow if they failed to submit the required tax documents or provide justification for their fee structures. Another committee has been constituted to take action against private medical colleges that fail to implement the approved fee structure, Azeem said.

Three-year moratorium on new private medical colleges

Kamal told the assembly that the government has imposed a three-year moratorium on the establishment of new private medical colleges. The moratorium does not apply to government institutions, which are allowed to expand their intake as infrastructure capacity increases.

Private institutions currently account for 65% of the country's approximately 22,000 medical seats, with government colleges providing the remaining 35%.

Context: limited domestic seats and medical education abroad

Around 96,000 candidates passed the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) last year, but only about 22,000 secured admission to medical colleges, Kamal said. The shortage of domestic seats has pushed many Pakistani students to pursue medical education abroad, particularly in Central Asian countries where the quality of education is not always satisfactory.

Pakistani students spend around $800 million annually on medical education overseas, the minister said. The PMDC has published a list of recognised foreign medical colleges to help students assess institutions before enrolling.

What to do next

  • Students or parents who believe a private medical college is charging unauthorised fees can file a complaint through the PMDC portal at pmdc.pk/ContactUs/Complaint.
  • Students seeking admission to private medical colleges are allocated institutions according to the preferences they list on their admission forms, with the government facilitating admissions through recognised seats.
  • Doctors who obtain medical qualifications overseas must pass a PMDC examination before practising in Pakistan.

The evidence does not establish the exact URL of the newly announced complaint portal separate from the existing PMDC disciplinary complaint form, nor does it specify the deadline for the 45 institutions that received notices to comply. The precise fee cap for each of the 61 appellant colleges beyond the 35 named in the PMDC notification has not been published in a single accessible list.