The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has issued show-cause notices to 12 medical and dental colleges for charging excessive fees, on Thursday.
The regulatory body has warned that strict action will be taken against dental and medical colleges collecting extra fees.
According to the PMDC, any excess fees that has been collected will either be refunded to students or adjusted in the next academic year.
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council has further directed students not to pay any additional or unauthorised fees to medical and dental colleges.
Some institutions had approached the courts over fee related issues, and the matter is still ongoing.
The council further added that colleges claiming that they have a higher operational costs have to provide proper justification.
Any fee increase will need a formal evaluation and approval before it is put into implementation.
It was further added that the maximum permissible fee may reach up to Rs2.5 million or 25 lakh rupees. And an approval will be mandatory before it.
PMDC announces new fee structure for MBBS, BDS
Prior to this, the PMDC issued a notification fixing the tuition fees. for MBBS and BDS programs in private medical and dental colleges.
For students of the 2023–2024 session, the annual tuition fee has been set at Rs 1.8 million. While for the 2025–2026 session, the fee has been fixed at Rs 1.89 million.
According to the notification, medical and dental colleges will not be allowed to increase fees arbitrarily.
Any violation will result in strict action by the authorities.
Future increases in fees will only be permitted in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The decision has been implemented following the recommendations of a committee formed at the direction of the Prime Minister.
PMDC had clarified that private medical and dental colleges must strictly comply with the prescribed fee limits.
