MDCAT deemed mandatory for admission to medical colleges

PMC official says merit lists will be published on January 1

ISLAMABAD:

With the uniform medical colleges' entry assessments just a few weeks ago, the apex regulator of medical education in the country has termed the test as mandatory to secure admissions to medical education institutions.

This was announced by the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) Vice President (VP) Ali Raza during a news conference on Thursday.

He said that the uniform medical and dental college admissions tests (MDCAT), due to be held on November 15, carry an entry fee of Rs500 and are compulsory for gaining admission to medical and dental colleges.

The PMC official added that more than 150,000 students are expected to appear for the MDCAT exam.

Raza stressed that the provincial governments are authorised to decide the weightage of test marks in their admissions process, however, he suggested that weightage should be split evenly at 50%.

The vice president explained the need for uniform tests arose due to the varying difficulty levels in different provinces.

He said that year-on-year, students in different provinces have complained that the MCAT tests in Punjab are comparatively easier.

Private medical colleges, the senior PMC official said, used to conduct admissions as per their own policy and tests. However, this year, they failed to prepare an admission policy due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, further necessitating a uniform MDCAT.

Students, he said, can apply to sit the exams through the centralised PMC.

With more than 85 medical and dental colleges listed on the portal, a student can choose to apply to any of them, Raza said, adding that the merit list will be displayed on January 1, 2021.

If a student is listed in merit lists of more than one college, they can apply to any of the available options.

Addressing student concerns over out-of-syllabus questions, Raza assured that students who have passed their Federal Science (FSc (pre-medical) examinations, can sit for the test as it will comprise topics which are common in the syllabus of all the four provinces.

Further, he said that a special examination committee has been formed to address complaints of students about the exam.

Any out-of-syllabus questions [for which complaints are received] will be removed from the entry test, he asserted.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2020.