PMC issues clarification regarding MDCAT in Sindh

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) has informed the authorities in Sindh that the additional entry test requirement set by them, apart from the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT), will only apply to public colleges and not on private colleges as they are not governed by the provincial government.

PMC President Dr Arshad Taqi conveyed the body’s view on the entry test in a letter to Sindh's Chairman of Provincial Admission Committee Prof Dr Gulshan All Memon.

The PMC chief informed Dr Memon that Sindh and other provincial governments have the “absolute right” to determine the admission policy for public colleges falling in their domain. It added that the authorities may also conduct the admissions to all public colleges located in Sindh.

“For the admission to public colleges the Government of Sindh may include any criteria that it finds appropriate including an entry test,” the PMC informed Sindh’s admission committee. However, the official clarified that the criteria of passing the MDCAT is a must under the “Section 18(1) and Section 18(2) of the Pakistan Medical Commission Act, 2020” in a medical college whether it is public or private.

The PMC also clarified that the MDCAT exam will hold a 50% weightage in determining “merit in public colleges”.

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“Therefore, the entry test being conducted by the Provincial Admission Committee of Sindh, is presumed to be an additional criteria for students seeking admission in public college in Sindh. This would be deemed to be in addition to the mandatory criteria of students having qualified the MDCAT exam” said Dr Taqi.

The PMC also asked Sindh’s admission committee to clarify the "exact criteria for admission to public colleges” in Sindh as it would be beneficial for the students.

Sindh's entry test not mandatory for private colleges

The national regulatory authority also informed the Sindh’s admission committee that the entry test cannot be declared “mandatory” criteria for private colleges as the provincial government’s “right to frame policy” is confined to public colleges only.

Uniform syllabus for all tests

The PMC said that the MDCAT has been developed based on a common syllabus submitted by the provinces. It added that under this rule no questions outside that syllabus can be part of the entry test in Sindh.

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“No student in Sindh or anywhere else in Pakistan will be required to study any additional syllabus or material to what they have already been preparing for,” it noted.

It also informed that the committee, formed under the controller examination of the National University of Medical Sciences, have representation from all provinces so that the syllabus for the exams remains “effectively common”.