ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has announced that admissions for the 2025–2026 academic session have been closed, and students admitted after April 15 will not be registered.

A notification issued by the council said all recognised medical and dental colleges have been directed not to grant admissions after the closing date.

PMDC further clarified that any admission granted beyond the stipulated deadline would constitute a violation of the PMDC Act, 2022, and the relevant regulations governing undergraduate medical and dental education. Consequently, such students will not be issued registration numbers, rendering their admissions invalid.

The directive has been issued with the approval of the competent authority and is binding on all institutions and admitting universities across the country.

The council also urged all stakeholders to ensure strict compliance with the regulations to maintain transparency, merit, and standardisation in medical and dental education.

On April 8, PMDCstatedthat universities could permit a one-time relaxation of up to three per cent in the MDCAT passing requirement for admissions to medical and dental colleges, aimed at filling vacant seats for the 2025–26 academic session.

The notification stated that the decision had been made solely to fill vacant seats, “ensuring strict merit-based transparency and institutional accountability by the admitting universities, with the admission process for these vacant seats to be monitored accordingly.”

Later, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) expressedstrong disappointmentover the council’s decision and called for the immediate withdrawal of the notification.

The association argued that seats remain vacant not due to a shortage of qualified candidates, but because of prohibitive fee structures.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2026