NA panel for more weightage to MDCAT in college admissions

The National Assembly standing committee on Health on Thursday proposed various reforms in the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT), including increasing its weightage for the admission to the college.

The committee met with its chairman Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani in the chair. The meeting discussed matters pertaining to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), the medical education examination system, regulatory failures in the healthcare sector and other issues.

The committee raised serious questions over the reforms in the medical examinations and the performance of the PMDC. The committee was informed that MDCAD would be held on Sunday, October 5, throughout the country.

The committee expressed concern over the lack of transparency, disparity between the exams boards and injustice in the MDCAT. It suggested that the weightage of the result of the MDCAT should be increased, so that deserving students could get opportunities to attain medical education.

The committee also proposed a central examination system and the creation of a databank of about 3,000 to 4,000 standard questions for all the provinces. The committee also questioned an unfair de-registration of colleges by the PMDC, political interference and injustice in students' registration.

The committee also discussed complaints about various medical colleges and hospitals. It directed for prompt action to resolve the problems facing the students who have graduated from Kyrgyzstan.