Keeping the more stringent policy of the Pakistan Medical Commission in mind, the provincial cabinet has decided to reduce the passing percentage for Sindh domicile candidates of the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT)-2021 from 65 to 50 per cent for the 2021-2022 session.
"This decision will not only provide admission opportunities to provincial candidates to gain admission to medical and dental colleges/universities of Sindh, but the seats which are vacant will also be filled," said Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah as he presided over the cabinet meeting here at the CM House on Thursday.
The meeting was attended by provincial ministers, advisers, special assistants, Sindh Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah, P&D Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and other concerned officers.
The cabinet was told that after replacing the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), the National Assembly passed the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) Act with the objective to regulate the medical profession, medical education and to recognise medical and dental qualifications all over Pakistan.
Section 16(D) of the PMC Act 2020 provides powers to the commission to conduct all examinations, whereas Section 18(3) dictates that "admission to medical or dental programs, conducted by public colleges, is to be regulated as per policy of the provincial governments".
"Marks obtained by a student in MDCAT, conducted by the authority, shall constitute a minimum of 50 percent of the weightage for the purposes of admission in the public colleges," Sindh Health Minister Azra Pechuho said, quoting the act.
"Hence, in the PMC Act 2020, there is no mention of pass or fail percentage in the eligibility criteria. Likewise, there is no mention of a minimum compulsory passing score, which at present is 65 percent."
According to Dr Pechuho, PMC conducted computer-based MDCAT-2021 exams in October 2021 following the federal curriculum on different dates.
"The test from the federal curriculum puts Sindh's students at a disadvantage and this resulted in low percentages," she said.
The minister continued that in 2020, the passing percentage of the MDCAT test was 60 per cent, while the requirement has been unilaterally increased to 65 per cent.
As a result, the total number of students who qualified last year was 8,287 (32.8 percent), while those who qualified for MDCAT 2021 was 7,797 (22.4 percent). At the same time, the number of seats in medical and dental colleges, both private and public, stands at 5,490.
Last year, with the passing percentage of 60 in MDCAT, 8,287 students cleared the exam in Sindh. Of the total, 2,900 took admissions in public sector medical and dental colleges. Of the remaining 5,387 students, about 800 took admissions in private sector medical and dental colleges and 4,587 were unable to gain acceptance due to the lack of finances.
Therefore, 1,800 seats were left vacant and the private sector accepted 1,300 candidates from other provinces, while 492 seats remained unfilled.
According to the cabinet, the growing trend of lesser admissions will force Sindh to face a severe shortage of about 10,000 doctors in the next five years.
"WHO recommends one doctor for 850 people, whereas that ratio currently stands at a doctor per 3,200 people," the chief minister said. He feared that this gap would widen in the future if the situation persisted.
The Sindh health minister, referring to the consultation process with various stakeholders, told cabinet members that she had held several meetings with the vice chancellors of public medical and dental universities and the Sindh chapter of the Pakistan Association of Medical and Dental Institutions.
Pechuho revealed that under a consensus, it was decided that in order to fill the total seats, the passing percentage of MDCAT-2021 should be slashed from the existing 65 to 50 per cent.
The minister said that the request to lower the passing percentage was not only communicated in writing to the PMC president, but a delegation from Sindh also met him to bring him to up to speed. However, she regretted that no response has been received from PMC.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 3rd, 2021.
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