ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) has requested the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to lower the admission criteria for MBBS and BDS programs.
The move aims to prevent hundreds of seats in Sindh’s private medical and dental colleges from remaining vacant. SMBBMU registrar approached the PMDC because university sources revealed that about 350 MBBS and BDS seats in private institutions remained unfilled because candidates did not satisfy the existing eligibility criteria.
The university received multiple complaints from private colleges concerned about their inability to fill seats even after repeated admission rounds.
The SMBBMU communication recommended a 10% reduction in minimum passing marks for admissions: lowering MBBS criteria from 55% to 45% and BDS from 50% to 40%.
The registrar mentioned that the previous year’s 5% admission relaxation successfully enabled students to enter programs while stopping seat loss, which serves as the most valuable resource.
The letter states that the current academic session has even fewer eligible candidates than the last, while vacant seats have increased. The letter states that a bigger relaxation will help make full use of existing seats, which helps academic programs while meeting the healthcare requirements of Sindh without lowering educational standards.
The Sindh Health Secretary, LUMHS Jamshoro, and the Sindh Supervising & Steering Committee Vice Chancellor and Chairperson received copies of the request. SMBBMU Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Nusrat Shah confirmed that he sent the letter but stated that the PMDC had not yet responded to him.
