Health Ministry mandates 80% biometric attendance for PG Dental students, check NDC notice

2 min readNew DelhiJul 5, 2026 02:17 PM IST

This year, the 2025 NEET PG counselling started only on October 17. The delay coincides with a Supreme Court hearing over alleged irregularities and transparency issues in the exam. )Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana/ representative)

The National Dental Commission (NDC) has directed all dental colleges and universities across the country to ensure that postgraduate (PG) dental students maintain at least 80 per cent biometric attendance to become eligible for university examinations.

The commission has also warned institutions that they will be held accountable if they permit students with inadequate biometric attendance to sit for examinations.

In its notice, the NDC said:

“…your institution was advised to ensure minimum 80% biometric attendance requirements of all Postgraduate (PG) students as per Regulation 18(a)(i) of DCI MDS Course Regulations, 2017.”

The commission further directed institutions to strictly enforce the rule, stating, “You are hereby directed to ensure that no PG student is allowed to appear in the University/PG examination, if the biometric attendance is less than 80%, and the institution shall be held responsible for such non-compliance with the statutory directions issued by the National Dental Commission.”

The current notice follows on an earlier directive issued on January 19, 2026, when the then Dental Council of India (DCI) had instructed institutions to implement the minimum biometric attendance requirement. That circular was based on the recommendations of the DCI’s Grievance Sub-Committee after it examined complaints regarding inadequate attendance of postgraduate dental students in colleges across Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

According to the committee’s findings, several complaints highlighted instances of postgraduate students not meeting the mandatory attendance norms.

After reviewing the matter, the committee recommended that all universities and dental colleges strictly implement Regulation 18(a)(i) of the DCI MDS Course Regulations, 2017, which requires a minimum of 80 per cent biometric attendance before a student is permitted to appear in the MDS examinations.

The NDC’s notice further clarified that institutions failing to enforce the attendance rule may face responsibility for violating the commission’s statutory directions.