UHS sets 90% attendance, 70% passing marks for medical, dental students

The University of Health Sciences (UHS) has introduced stringent academic regulations for medical and dental students, mandating a minimum of 90 percent attendance and a 70 percent passing mark requirement for professional examinations.

These new standards, in line with a recent notification from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC), were approved during the 85th meeting of the UHS Syndicate on Monday.

The meeting, presided over by UHS Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Ahsan Waheed Rathore, confirmed that the revised criteria will be applicable from the academic session 2024-25.

Under the new policy, students who fail to meet the 90% attendance requirement will be barred from sitting in annual examinations. Additionally, only those securing at least 70% marks will be considered as passing their professional assessments.

These regulations will take effect from the academic session 2024-25 and will apply exclusively to newly admitted MBBS and BDS first-year students.

Students already enrolled in ongoing sessions will not be affected. Currently, the minimum attendance requirement in medical and dental colleges stands at 85%, while the passing marks threshold is 50%.

During the meeting, Dr. Zahid Pervaiz was nominated as a member of the UHS Finance and Planning Committee.

Furthermore, in line with a recent PM&DC notification, the MBBS seat capacity of two private medical colleges—Sahara Medical College, Narowal, and Sharif Medical College, Lahore—has been increased from 100 to 150.

The meeting was attended by Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof. Nadia Naseem, Dr. Zahid Pervaiz, and Registrar Kiran Fatima. Prof. Arshad Cheema and Prof. Maryam Malik, along with representatives from the Punjab Specialized Healthcare and Finance Departments, participated virtually.