Islamabad: The Aga Khan University Medical College (AKU) in Karachi has been declared Pakistan’s costliest medical college, charging students up to Rs 4.93 million per year for its MBBS programme, more than two and a half times higher than the annual fee ceiling of Rs 1.89 million fixed by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) for private institutions.
PMDC officials said private medical colleges may charge up to Rs 2.5 million per year, but only if they submit a valid justification to the regulator and receive approval from the Council.
The latest working papers submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Health show that AKU’s total cost for the five-year MBBS degree stands at Rs 20.39 million, the highest in the country.
The data reveals that most private medical colleges are charging between Rs 14.6 million and Rs 16 million for a full five-year MBBS programme, far above the official limits.
Abwa Medical College in Faisalabad follows AKU with a total cost of Rs 16.03 million, while Ziauddin Medical College Karachi ranks third with Rs 15.69 million.
Isra University’s Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences in Hyderabad, Al-Tibri Medical College Karachi, and Al-Nafees Medical College Islamabad each charge around Rs 15.1 million.
Bakhtawar Amin Medical and Dental College Multan stands at Rs 14.97 million, Central Parks Medical College Lahore at Rs 14.87 million, Shalamar Medical and Dental College Lahore at Rs 14.75 million, and Lahore Medical and Dental College Lahore at Rs 14.64 million.
The PMDC documents show that AKU’s annual tuition begins at Rs 3.30 million in the first year, increases to Rs 3.61 million in the second, Rs 4.07 million in the third, Rs 4.48 million in the fourth, and reaches Rs 4.93 million in the final year, bringing the total cost to Rs 20.395 million.
The difference between AKU and other colleges underscores the wide fee disparity across Pakistan’s private medical sector despite an official fee structure intended to ensure uniformity.
The PMDC, in its notification issued on October 6, 2025, fixed the maximum annual tuition fee for private medical and dental colleges at Rs 1.89 million starting January 2026 and warned that any violation would result in disciplinary action.
However, the Pakistan Association of Medical Institutions (PAMI) challenged this decision in the Islamabad High Court, arguing that the cap was unrealistic and did not account for inflation, infrastructure, and operational costs.
On October 29, 2025, the court granted a stay order, restraining PMDC from taking coercive action against any college charging above the limit. As a result, the fee notification remains suspended, and private institutions continue to follow their own fee schedules.
Before the court’s stay order, PMDC had issued show-cause notices to 12 private medical and dental colleges for exceeding the Rs 1.8 million annual ceiling during the 2024–25 session.
These included Aziz Fatima Medical and Dental College Lahore (Rs 2.53 million), Jinnah Medical and Dental College Karachi (Rs 2.8 million), Abu Umara Medical and Dental College Lahore (Rs 2.48 million), Bakhtawar Amin Medical College Multan (Rs 3.07 million), Foundation University Medical College Rawalpindi (Rs 2.07 million), Abwa Medical College Faisalabad (Rs 2.77 million), Shahida Islam Medical College Lodhran (Rs 2.6 million), Lahore Medical and Dental College Lahore (Rs 2.62 million), Rai Medical College Sargodha (Rs 2.48 million), Rawal Institute of Health Sciences Islamabad (Rs 2.55 million), Muhammadi College of Medicine Peshawar (Rs 1.92 million), and Liaquat National Medical College Karachi (above Rs 2.5 million).
The Council had warned of possible suspension of accreditation and admissions under Section 33 of the PMDC Act, 2022, but implementation was halted following the court’s intervention.
PMDC officials told the parliamentary committee that the regulation was aimed at protecting students and parents from arbitrary overcharging and bringing consistency across institutions. They reported receiving 39 fee-refund complaints this year, of which 32 have been resolved.
Private college representatives, however, argue that the official cap is financially impractical given escalating faculty salaries, utility costs, and medical equipment expenses. They claim a uniform ceiling disregards operational variations between large hospitals such as Aga Khan University and smaller regional institutions.
For now, the PMDC’s Rs 1.89 million annual fee cap remains suspended under the Islamabad High Court’s stay order, leaving the private medical education sector in limbo. With admissions for the 2026 session approaching, both students and parents are anxiously awaiting clarity on the future of fee regulation in Pakistan’s private medical colleges.
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