Pakistan’s private medical education sector is facing a crisis that policymakers can no longer afford to ignore. In 1988, Baqai Medical College became Pakistan’s first private medical college. In the years that followed, private medical education expanded rapidly. From just a handful of institutions in the 1990s, Pakistan now has around 130 medical colleges, approximately 80 of them in the private sector.

For decades, private medical colleges were seen as a success story. They mobilised billions of rupees in private investment, built teaching hospitals, created thousands of jobs and produced a large proportion of Pakistan’s doctors.

But the model is now under severe pressure. For the first time, medical and dental seats have remained vacant. In the 2025–26 admission cycle, approximately 743 seats reportedly remained unfilled, including 135 MBBS and 608 BDS seats. The number of MDCAT applicants has also declined significantly in recent years, from 204,253 in 2022 to 138,000 in 2026.

Why are young people turning away from medicine? The answer is uncomfortable but clear. Medical education has become more expensive,........

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