Islamabad: Relief for hundreds of aspiring medical students and their parents has been put on hold after private medical colleges secured a stay order from the Islamabad High Court against the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s decision to cap annual tuition fees at Rs 1.89 million for the 2025–26 academic session.
As a result, private colleges are set to continue charging heavy fees in the coming year, officials confirmed on Saturday.
The PMDC had formally fixed the maximum annual tuition fee for MBBS and BDS at Rs 1.89 million starting January 2026, allowing colleges to charge up to Rs 2.5 million only on the provision of valid justification to the PMDC, and warned of strict penalties and disciplinary action for violations.
According to the notification issued on October 6, the base annual fee for both programmes would remain Rs 1.8 million with a 5 percent increase allowed for the 2025–26 session. From 2026–27 onwards, any increase would be linked to CPI inflation, following the recommendation of the Medical Education Committee constituted by the Prime Minister. The Council argued that the policy aimed to protect parents from exploitative charges and bring uniformity across private institutions.
However, the Pakistan Association of Medical Institutions challenged the cap in the Islamabad High Court, terming it impractical and arguing that the limits did not reflect rising inflation, faculty salaries, investment in infrastructure, diagnostic and teaching facilities, and other operational costs.
On October 29, 2025, the court restrained PMDC from taking any coercive action against institutions exceeding the capped fee, effectively suspending the notification. With the stay order in place, private medical institutions continue to follow their own fee schedules and the Council has paused enforcement.
Before the court’s intervention, PMDC had issued show-cause notices to 12 private medical and dental colleges for charging above the Rs 1.8 million 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 (over Rs 2.5 million). The Council had warned that under Section 33 of the PMDC Act, 2022, continuing violations could lead to suspension of accreditation and admissions.
Data shared with the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Health has highlighted glaring disparities in the private sector’s fee structure. The Aga Khan University in Karachi remains 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 PMDC limit. AKU’s total five-year cost stands at Rs 20.39 million, making it the most expensive medical school in the country.
The Council’s working papers show that AKU’s annual fee begins at Rs 3.30 million in the first year, rises 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. After AKU, Abwa Medical College Faisalabad charges around Rs 16.03 million for the full degree, followed by Ziauddin Medical College Karachi 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 approximately Rs 15.1 million. Bakhtawar Amin Medical and Dental College Multan charges Rs 14.97 million, Central Parks Medical College Lahore Rs 14.87 million, Shalamar Medical and Dental College Lahore Rs 14.75 million, and Lahore Medical and Dental College Lahore Rs 14.64 million for the five-year programme.
PMDC officials told the parliamentary panel that the cap was introduced after multiple complaints from parents who said they were being overcharged without justification. The Council said it handled 39 fee refund complaints this year, out of which 32 were resolved in favour of students.
Private medical college representatives insist that a uniform fee ceiling cannot apply across the board, arguing that institutions with attached teaching hospitals, research facilities, and advanced academic resources incur higher costs. They maintain that any fee regulation must consider operational differences between large private universities such as AKU and medium or small private medical colleges.
With the stay order leaving the fee policy in limbo, there is growing uncertainty for the 2026 admissions cycle. Parents and students are concerned that unless a final decision is made soon, the financial burden of medical education in the private sector will remain unaffordable for many, and colleges will continue to set fees at their discretion for another year.
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