PMC lowers eligibility criteria for MDCAT

In  a  major  development,  the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) has decreased  the  eligibility  criteria  for  the  Medical  and Dental Colleges Admissions Test (MDCAT) to accommodate more students.

According  to  the  PMC, students who have scored 60  per  cent  marks  in  intermediate were eligible to sit for  the  MDCAT.  It said that the new registration  for  MDCAT  2022  will  resume  from  September  10  to  September  25.  

"The  purpose  of  reopening the registration is to give an opportunity to all students who could not register themselves  due  to  the eligibility criteria,” it said.

Meanwhile, the PMC also  lowered  the  required passing percentage for the MDCAT-2022  from  65 per cent to 55 per cent for medical  admissions and from 55 per cent to 45 per cent for dental admissions in the 2022-2023 session.

After the waiver, the students having passed the  MDCAT  exam  with  a minimum of  55  per  cent  and  45  per  cent  of  marks  and having obtained 60 in he FSC or equivalent exam shall be eligible for admission  to  medical  or  dental colleges and universities.

Earlier,  the  PMC  postponed  the  MDCAT  for  an indefinite period in view of the evolving flood devastation in the country. The decision came a day after the newly-constituted council issued the revised schedule for the MDCAT across the country.

Announcing the decision at a press conference on Wednesday, Federal Minister for National Health Services Abdul Qadir Patel said electricity and  internet connections  remained  severed  in  several  parts  of  the  country,  
preventing  a  large  number of students to register themselves on the relevant online portal for the test.

However,  the  students  who could not apply for the test can now register themselves  through  the  requisite  portal  and  provinces  will  conduct  the MDCAT examination  under  their  domain.  The  portal  will  remain open for two weeks for such students.

“Currently,  the  country  is  badly  affected  due  tofloods,  provinces  and  the federation are busy helping their citizens as over 1,300 people have lost their lives and millions of people have been displaced,” the minister lamented.

Nearly,  16,000  students  were  studying  in  foreign medical colleges, draining out Rs50 billion annually, the minister added.The  minister  said  this  policy can also be reviewed if a seat remains unfilled. He said around 16,000 Pakistani students are studying abroad, draining out  Rs50  billion  rupees.  

He said we are committed to facilitating our children. He said the council has also decided to review  National Licensing Examination (NLE) for Pakistani  
graduates. 

However, this exam would continue for foreigners.Meanwhile, the PMC has reinstated  the  employees  of the eartwhile PMDC on the  recommendations  of the investigation committee.

The PMC has issued a notification regarding the reinstatement of employees. Jawad Amin Khan and Shabbir Kasbati, who were part  of  the  two-member committee, examined the matter  on  behalf  of  the  commission. 

The committee reviewed the  matter  in  detail  and  recommended reinstating the employees  who  had  retired  under  the  golden  hand shake.