ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The MDCAT 2025 test for admissions to 188 government and private medical and dental colleges across the country is being held today, while Section 144 has been imposed around the examination centers to maintain law and order.
According to sources, more than 140,000 candidates have deposited fees to appear in the exam. The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) had fixed a fee of Rs 9,000 per candidate.
A total of Rs 1.26 billion was collected, of which Rs 210 million will be spent on expenses and Rs 1.5 billion will be transferred to federal and provincial medical universities. The PMDC has decided to give Rs 1,500 per candidate for its administrative expenses, while Rs 7,500 to the universities.
There are currently 121 private medical and dental colleges operating in the country, including 77 medical and 44 dental colleges, while 67 government colleges have 49 medical and 18 dental colleges.
According to the data, 46 private medical colleges are established in Punjab, 17 in Sindh, 11 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one each in Azad Kashmir and Balochistan. Similarly, 6 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 25 in Punjab, and 12 in Sindh are active private dental colleges.
On the other hand, pressure was put on the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council to postpone the exam. Yesterday, during a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, MD CAT Strategist Dr. Sajid Alvi said that “the exam should not be held tomorrow, different parts of the country are affected by the recent floods, students are not mentally and physically prepared.”
He alleged that the PMDC is ignoring the problems of students in the affected areas. “The institution is responsible, but is putting students in more trouble by conducting the exam,” he said. Dr. Alvi claimed that more than 40,000 candidates may not be able to take the exam, which will affect their merit.
He also termed the domicile and CNIC requirement introduced in 2023 as unnecessary and said that “students are thinking whether to prepare for the exam or waste time behind identity documents.”
Dr. Alvi questioned the formation of Sukkur IBA University as the conducting body for the exam in Sindh, saying, “IBA has nothing to do with medical education, yet it has been given the responsibility of conducting MDCAT.” He expressed concern over PMDC not providing syllabus guidance and possible paper leakage.
“Students have been called at 6 am while the exam will start at 10 am, this will cause more suffering for them,” he said. Dr. Alvi demanded increased security at the examination centers, deployment of Rangers, and postponement of the exam.
Meanwhile, the Sindh government has relaxed the NADRA card requirement for candidates. According to Sukkur IBA University Vice Chancellor Dr. Asif Ahmed Sheikh, candidates who do not have a juvenile card, CNIC, or passport will be able to appear in the exam by showing their Matriculation or Inter photo mark sheet.
He said that “This facility has been given only for MDCAT 2025 so that maximum students can take the exam.” According to Dr. Sheikh, the test will be for three hours, and no candidate will be allowed to leave the hall before the time is up.
The controversy over MDCAT 2025 has intensified as demands for its postponement have also increased, along with the conduct of the exam across the country.
