By Ikram Junaidi Mnas Dr Shazia
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Health has suggested reducing the weightage for board exams and giving greater value to the marks obtained in the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT).
The recommendation aims to ensure that deserving candidates are not overlooked, allowing for a more accurate reflection of a student鈥檚 potential for medical education.
The members of the committee at a meeting also proposed using a centralised testing model with a standardised paper bank to curb provincial disparities.
MDCAT is mandatory for admissions to medical and dental colleges across Pakistan. The test, in which around 200,000 candidates appear every year, will be held on October 5 this year.
PMDC informs meeting of plans to establish repository of 3,000 to 4,000 questions and hold entry test under unified curriculum
The meeting with MNA Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani in the chair examined pressing concerns related to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), medical education testing procedures, regulatory failures in the healthcare sector and ongoing policy issues regarding medicine procurement and public health.
While discussing MDCAT, members emphasised that issues of fairness, board-level disparities and lack of standardisation have caused significant distress to students, including reported suicides linked to unfair marking practices.
PMDC informed the committee of its plans to establish a repository of 3,000 to 4,000 questions and hold MDCAT under a unified curriculum.
They stressed the need for transparency and digital testing and questioned the continued involvement of SZABMU in conducting the test due to previous controversies. The committee voiced grave concerns over the role of PMDC in the alleged unregulated provisional registrations, arbitrary deregistration of colleges and political interference.
The members raised specific issues regarding discrepancies in student assessments, arbitrary registrar appointments and inconsistent implementation of committee recommendations.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal acknowledged the shortcomings and assured the members that a transparent and effective solution would be devised within the legal framework. A fact-finding report was ordered regarding students affected by inconsistencies at Al Nafees Medical College.
The committee also directed PMDC to expedite inquiries, particularly those involving international graduates and Kyrgyzstan-based medical institutions.
Health minister defends PMDC
While PPP MNA Sharmila Faruqui grilled the PMDC and alleged that people were suffering because of its lethargic attitude, the health minister came forward to defend the council.
Ms Faruqui alleged that there was no uniform policy for registration of students/graduates due to which people were suffering. She also asked why permanent registrar of the council could not be appointed since 2023 and why PMDC had been failed to implement its own notification which directed that private medical and dental colleges cannot charge more than Rs1.8 million annual fee.
鈥淲hile it had been proven that there were discrepancies in awarding licences to 18 medical colleges, why could action not be taken against the PMDC officials involved in these licences?鈥 Ms Faruqui asked.
She also regretted that action could not be taken against those involved in registration of Bahawalpur Medical College, which was closed on the direction of the prime minster and the federal cabinet after a detailed inquiry, but later the college got a stay order from court and has started functioning again.
However, rather than allowing PMDC to reply or seek an explanation from it, Minister Mustafa Kamal said he will look into the issues personally.
The meeting was attended by MNAs Dr Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro, Sabheen Ghoury, Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Farah Naz Akbar, Dr Shaista Khan, Dr Darshan, Dr Nikhat Shakeel Khan, Aliya Kamran, Shahram Khan, Farukh Khan, Gul Asghar Khan, Dr Amjad Ali Khan and Dr Nisar Ahmed in person. Shabbir Ali Qureshi, Azimuddin Zahid Lakhwi and Sharmila Faruqui attended virtually.
Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2025