PMA raises alarm over sharp drop in MDCAT candidates
• Applications plunge from 204,253 in 2022 to 138,000 this year • Association calls trend ‘structural decline’; high tuition fees, poor pay blamed ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on Monday warned that a sharp decline in candidates appearing for the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) signals growing disillusionment with medicine as a career among young people.…
The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has raised concerns over a significant decline in the number of candidates taking the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT). Official data shows applications dropped from 204,253 in 2022 to around 138,000 in 2026. The PMA, representing the medical community, attributes the trend to "structural decline in interest" rather than just administrative issues.
Factors cited include high tuition fees, poor financial prospects for young doctors, delays in house-job stipends, and a shortage of paid postgraduate residency positions. The association also highlights the safety concerns faced by healthcare workers and the absence of a federal law for their protection. Pre-medical students are opting for fields like computer science and artificial intelligence due to better career prospects and higher salaries.
PMA Secretary-General Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro called for addressing economic and security issues, suggesting capping private college fees, timely stipend payments, creating regular medical officer posts, and enacting a federal Healthcare Professionals Protection Act. Failure to act could lead to a severe doctor shortage in the next decade, threatening Pakistan's public healthcare system.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
