Council president Dr Rizwan Taj says the excessive fees will be refunded or adjusted in the next academic year.
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) chairman Dr Rizwan Taj on Thursday said he had issued show-cause notices to 12 medical and dental institutions charging an annual fee exceeding Rs 1.8 million, the limit set by the council.
In a session with media representatives, Dr Taj gave an overview of the council’s major achievements and ongoing initiatives. Various issues of public interest including fee regulation, student welfare and institutional compliance were discussed in depth.
Media representatives expressed concern that some medical and dental colleges continued to charge fees exceeding the limit of Rs 1.8 million. In response, Taj assured that the PMDC was closely monitoring all medical and dental institutions to ensure full compliance with the fee cap policy.
“The council has issued show cause notices to 12 medical colleges and universities, and we are currently evaluating 40 more cases after their petitions were dismissed by the court and subsequently referred to the PMDC,” he said.
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Despite the ongoing legal proceedings, Dr Taj announced that an agreement had been reached with the Pakistan Association of Medical Institutions (PAMI). Under the agreement, the institutions would withdraw their litigation and grant relief to students.
He said that a follow-up meeting with PAMI was planned for the end of the month. During the next meeting, institutions wishing to increase their fees up to the limit of Rs 2.5 crore will be directed to submit detailed financial justifications to the PMDC.
“Any request for tariff increase will be assessed through a proper assessment process and will only be approved by the PMDC after thorough evaluation,” Dr Taj said.
He reiterated that medical and dental colleges found that charging fees beyond the approved limit, unless they had obtained prior approval, would be required to provide relief to students.
“Any excessive fees will be refunded to students or adjusted in the next academic year,” he added.
Taj further emphasized that the council had consistently issued public notices and awareness messages to advise students and parents not to pay fees exceeding the approved limit.
“Every aspiring student deserves access to the highest level of medical and dental education,” he said, adding that quality medical education was a fundamental right for all students, regardless of their financial situation or social status.
Last year, the federal government capped annual tuition fees at Rs 1.8 crore for MBBS and BDS programs in private medical and dental colleges.
The decision was taken by the Medical Education Reforms Committee, formed on the directive of the Prime Minister and chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister.
The PMDC had clarified that institutions that wanted to charge more (up to a maximum of Rs 2.5 million per year) would have to submit detailed financial justifications, including comparisons with similar institutions, services offered and academic improvements.
