MDCAT syllabus unchanged, to be held on November 13

Islamabad:The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) on Monday said there's no change in the syllabus for the upcoming Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test.

"The MDCAT 2022 will be held on November 13 under the syllabus, which is already available on our [PMC's] official website. We will provide public sector universities with question banks, whose use will be optional for them," the regulator for medical and dental education in the country said after a meeting of its supreme decision-making body, Council, here.

According to the PMC, which was reconstituted by the prime minister on September 7, 2022, almost 0.21 million candidates have got themselves registered for MDCAT, whereas the seats for new admission to medical and dental colleges in the country are 20,800. The MDCAT will be held on a single day (November 13) at the Bolan University of Medical and Health Sciences (Baluchistan), University of Health Services (Punjab), Khyber Medical University (KPK), Dow University of Health Sciences (Sindh), Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The PMC said all vice-chancellors of public universities and important stakeholders had been taken on board about the MDCAT. The exam conducting universities will decide on the modalities of conducting exam i.e. either by themselves or through testing agency. According to the PMC, the National University of Medical Sciences will hold the MDCAT under the umbrella of the commission and will only be valid for admissions to its own constituent and affiliated colleges.

“In order to facilitate Pakistani students seeking admission in recognised colleges offering MBBS and BDS programmes, the Council decided that the pass percentage of MBBS will be 55 per cent and that of BDS will be 45 per cent so that the maximum number of students are catered in the country. Moreover, FSc (Pre-Medical) or Equivalent with 60 per cent marks will be eligible to apply for admission to MBBS or BDS. The pass percentage has been reduced from 65 per cent to 60 per cent.”

The MDCAT will be a paper-based manual test and that answer keys of the papers will be uploaded by the concerned universities on the PMC website on the same day. The PMC said renewal of the doctors registration certificates had been extended from two years to five years as several complaints about it were received by the PMC.

“A special leverage has been given to senior doctors who are 60 years and above shall renew their registration certificate and will have to pay 50 per cent of the total fee.” The commission said the existing pathways for foreign medical and dental graduates would be cancelled for the issuance of a list of recognised foreign medical and dental colleges and universities duly recognised by the commission, irrespective of categories.

It added that foreign medical and dental graduates having completed their qualifications from the colleges on the approved list would be issued provisional licenses to undertake house jobs after having verification of their basic degrees from the granting institutes. These provisional licence holders must complete the mandatory requirement of passing the NLE 1 and 2 at any time prior to issuance of full licence.

The PMC said the medical and dental graduates from unrecognised and unapproved institutions and programme would have to appear and pass NLE 1 and 2 before issuance of provisional licence. It added that regional offices in Karachi and Quetta would be upgraded keeping in view the distance of those cities from head office. The commission said its regional offices would be established in Muzaffarabad and Gilgit to facilitate the people and doctors.