Islamabad: Pakistan Medical and Dental Council on Monday confirmed before the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Health that 14 private medical colleges have been issued show-cause notices for charging students as high as Rs. 30 to 40 lakh for MBBS seats despite an officially approved annual fee cap of Rs. 18 to 25 lakh, prompting lawmakers to declare that medical education has been turned into an auction house under weak regulation.
The disclosure caused visible anger among members who said the regulator had failed in its duty by allowing colleges to continue admissions while extracting money far beyond the notified limit.
Chairman of the NA health committee Dr. Mahesh Kumar Malani demanded that the names of the colleges along with the dates of notices and action taken be presented on record, warning that institutions found involved in profiteering must face financial penalties and even cancellation of registration.
PMDC President initially avoided naming the institutions which drew criticism from lawmakers, until newly appointed Registrar Dr. Rehan Naqvi opened the official file and read out the list, pledging that any college refusing to comply with fee regulations would face disciplinary proceedings.
Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal, who was present along with senior officials of the Ministry, admitted that exploitation in the name of medical education had become rampant and announced that a nationwide fee verification survey starting from Islamabad would be launched immediately.
“If any college is charging a single rupee above the notified ceiling, it will have to justify it before this Committee,” he said, agreeing that regulation must shift from reactive to preventive.
Lawmakers noted that out of 188 medical colleges in Pakistan, 122 are in the private sector, and said parents across the country were being pushed into debt, loan agreements and distress sales of property just to secure a medical seat for their children.
They warned that unchecked commercialization of MBBS seats is shutting out deserving students, turning education into a commodity reserved only for those who can pay. Members said PMDC must publicly name violators instead of issuing silent internal notices, as secrecy only protects powerful institutions from scrutiny.
During the same sitting, Committee members also questioned the MDCAT policy, particularly the two-year validity of test results without a relative merit adjustment, saying it locks out high-performing fresh candidates despite thousands of students scoring above 95 percent.
They called for an immediate policy review to ensure academic justice ahead of the next examination cycle.
The Nursing Council Ordinance also came under fire, with members alleging that postings and appointments had been made through personal influence and legal cover via ordinance, referring to cases where individuals continued to hold office despite committee objections.
The Health Minister clarified that the ordinance does not legalise any past unlawful actions and said all such cases would remain open to legal review. Lawmakers demanded that the reconstituted 19-member Nursing Council ensure provincial representation and merit, and asked that its composition be examined line by line in consultation with the Law Ministry before enforcement.
Members further raised concerns that medicines were being distributed under the names of Parliamentarians without transparency, warning that such practices create room for misuse and political branding.
They called for an online traceability system to ensure accountability in all medicine distribution, including at parliamentary dispensaries where even basic drug quality, they said, was inconsistent compared to hospital supply.
At the end of the meeting, Dr. Mahesh Kumar Malani said the Committee would not allow medical education to be hijacked by private lobbies under weak oversight and warned that in the next sitting, PMDC and the Ministry would be required to present proof of enforcement, not just files and surveys.
Ends