Conduct MDCAT exams again: NA panel

PMC chief fails to answer for discrepancies in results

ISLAMABAD:

The National Assembly Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination on Thursday recommended that Medical and Dental College Admissions Test (MDCAT) results may be cancelled and the tests may be conducted again to secure the future of students.

The committee meeting held under the chairmanship of Khalid Hussain Magsi made this recommendation after a thorough discussion on the results of MDCAT.

The committee was of the view that on reservations of the body regarding flaw and discrepancy in MDCAT test results, the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) president could not satisfy the committee.

Discussing the allocation of seats and fee structure of private medical colleges, the committee recommended and directed that the PMC may allocate seats to private medical colleges and determine their fee structure by themselves.

The committee further recommended that passing marks for admission test of MDCAT should not be more than 50%. The committee urged the PMC to hire the services of medical professionals with administrative skills instead of other professionals. The meeting was attended by Dr Haider Ali, Jai Parkash, Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, Dr Nousheen Hamid, Dr Seemi Bukhari, Fouzia Behram, Aliya Hamza Malik, Dr Nisar Ahmed Cheema, Dr Samina Matloob, Dr Darshan, Dr Sobia Shazia Aslam Soomro, Ramaish Lal, and Salahuddin Ayubi as a special invitee.

Member of the committee MNA Sobia Shazia said it is beyond comprehension that the power to test the students was taken away from the provinces and handed to the centre. “If we were to get a briefing from a secretary, then we should have gone to the ministry,” she said, adding that future of children is at stake, the people who organised the exams should come here in the committee and explain why questions were given out of course.

The latest medical and dental college entrance exams conducted under the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC), appear to have held a mirror up to the state of education across the country.

According to MDCAT results obtained by The Express Tribune, the percentage of failing students from Sindh stands at 74.51 per cent in rural and 56.39 per cent in urban parts of the province. Furthermore, out of the 25,266 students from rural and urban Sindh who participated in the test, over 16,965 were those who failed the test with less than 120 marks. Going by which, the success rate of students in rural and urban Sindh stands at a mere nine per cent and 43.61 per cent respectively. Thereby, making rural Sindh one of the most educationally impoverished regions in the country.

In contrast, in KP, a majority of 74.4 per cent of students have been able to score a passing grade.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2021.