Academic competition: Entry test for medical colleges on September 22

Test to be held simultaneously in 12 cities, candidates must apply by Aug 30.

LAHORE:

The entrance test for admission to medical and dental colleges in the Punjab will be held on September 22 in 12 cities.

Entrance test forms will be available at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) and other public medical colleges from August 20 while the deadline for applications will be August 30, said UHS Vice-Chancellor Prof Muhammad Aslam at an orientation seminar on the admission test here at the Allama Iqbal Medical College on Thursday.

The 150-minute test will start at 9am simultaneously in Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Sahiwal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahim Yar Khan and Hassan Abdal. Candidates can choose where they wish to sit the test. However, once a testing centre is allotted, requests for changes will not be entertained.

Prof Aslam advised candidates to go to their centres at least one hour before the start of the test. They must take their admittance cards with them because nobody would be allowed to enter the examination centre without a valid card issued by the UHS, he said. All centres will be sealed at 8:15am after which nobody will be allowed in.

Candidates with at least 60 per cent marks in their FSc (pre-medical) or equivalent examinations and who are residents of any district of the Punjab, Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan are eligible to take the entrance test. Those still waiting for exam results must provide a Hope Certificate issued by the principal of their institution stating that the candidate is expected to get at least 60 per cent marks in the exams.

The vice chancellor said the entrance test would consist of a single paper with 220 multiple-choice questions, divided into four sections: physics (44 questions), chemistry (58 questions), English (30 questions) and biology (88 questions).

“A candidate will answer the test by filling the circles on the response form. Only one circle must be filled for one question. Filling more than one circle for a single question will be considered a wrong answer. There will be negative marking in the test and for each wrong answer one mark will be deducted from the total score. Each correct answer will carry five marks,” he added.

Candidates are not allowed to carry calculators, cell phones or notes with them into the exam hall. “Candidates are only allowed to bring blue ballpoint pens with them. No markers, pointers or pencils,” he added.

After the test, candidates will be asked to take an aptitude test and fill a feedback form for which they will get an extra 30 minutes. The test is for research purposes only and will have no effect on the entrance test score, said Prof Aslam.

The UHS will upload the answers to the questions in the entrance exam on its website on the day after the test. Candidates will be able to calculate their scores using a carbonised copy of their response form, which they may keep after the test. The answer key will also be published in national dailies the next day, the vice-chancellor said.

Citing Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) regulations, Prof Aslam said the final merit score of each candidate would be determined through a combination of their matriculation, intermediate and entrance test marks, in a 10:40:50 ratio, respectively.

He said that on the directions of the chief minister, the entry test fee and annual tuition fee for medical and dental colleges had not been increased this year.

There are a total 3,042 MBBS merit seats in 17 public medical colleges and 175 BDS merit seats in three government dental colleges in the Punjab. Some 3,000 students and their parents attended the seminar. AIMC Principal Prof Mahmood Shaukat was also present.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2013.