Islamabad: Parents are increasingly reluctant to send their children to costly private medical and dental colleges, fearing that spending Rs12 to Rs13 million on an MBBS degree may no longer guarantee a viable future, as an estimated 28,000 to 30,000 doctors are currently unemployed in Pakistan, officials of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) said on Thursday.
Talking informally to health journalists at the PMDC premises, Registrar Dr Rehan Asghar Naqvi said hundreds of MBBS seats were lying vacant in private medical colleges in Sindh and Punjab because families were unwilling to invest heavily in medical education amid shrinking job prospects for newly qualified doctors.
He said the figure of 28,000 to 30,000 unemployed doctors had been cited by some parliamentarians and health sector stakeholders, though it still required formal verification through official data.
“The perception among parents is changing. Many are asking why they should pay such a huge amount when there is no clear pathway to employment after graduation,” Dr Naqvi said, adding that some private colleges were now offering discounted fee packages to attract students. “Some institutions are offering MBBS education for around Rs12 lakh per annum to fill vacant seats,” he said.
PMDC officials said the country currently has around 388,000 medical and dental practitioners registered with the council, a figure that has risen sharply over the past decade with the rapid expansion of medical and dental colleges. However, they acknowledged that the increase in registered practitioners has not been matched by a proportional expansion in employment opportunities, postgraduate training positions and public sector health facilities.
While Pakistan continues to produce thousands of doctors every year, limited induction in government hospitals, slow growth in new healthcare facilities, bottlenecks in postgraduate training seats and the steady migration of doctors abroad have contributed to a situation in which many young doctors struggle to find stable and dignified employment within the country.
The PMDC registrar also pointed to long-standing concerns about high fees charged by elite institutions, including those run by the armed forces and Aga Khan University, saying the council had, for the first time, asked such institutions to justify their fee structures. “This was never done in the past. We have now asked all institutions, without exception, to provide a rationale for what they charge students,” he said.
PMDC President Prof Dr Rizwan Taj said the regulator was considering scholarships and soft loan schemes for students who secure admission on merit but cannot afford the fees of private medical colleges. He said decisions in this regard would be announced soon to ease the financial burden on deserving students.
He also hinted at regulatory reforms to improve the quality of medical education, including the possible introduction of a National Licensing Examination or exit exam for medical and dental graduates. Prof Taj said such a move would require amendments to the PMDC Act and that proposals were being prepared to strengthen quality assurance and professional standards.
The concerns over unemployment and affordability come as PMDC has warned medical and dental colleges against charging fees beyond the officially approved cap, directing institutions to refund or adjust any excess amounts collected from students in the next academic year. Prof Taj said show-cause notices had already been issued to at least 12 colleges found to be in violation of the fee cap policy.
Several institutions have challenged the fee cap in court, but PMDC officials said an understanding was being developed with the Pakistan Association of Medical Institutions to resolve the issue and provide relief to students. A follow-up meeting with the association is expected later this month to discuss the modalities for fee adjustments and compliance.
“Medical education cannot become the privilege of only those who can afford exorbitant fees, but we also cannot ignore the reality that a growing number of young doctors are struggling to find jobs after graduation,” Prof Taj said, adding that Pakistan urgently needs a coherent health workforce strategy to align medical education with realistic employment opportunities and health system needs.
Ends