The National Medical Collages Admission Test 2022 was scheduled to begin from Sept 7 but reports say that it has been delayed due to the ongoing floods situation in the country.

Moreover, after the passage of bill titled “Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) Amendment Bill, 2022  aimed restoration of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) by Senate Standing Committee on Health with majority, students are also confused as to whether the test will be taken at national level as planned earlier, or it will be conducted by the provinces. Like last years, aspirants for medical college admission tests are in a fix due to ongoing development with regard to dissolution of the Pakistan Medical  Association and the delay in formation of the PMDC.

Earlier, the Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif dissolved the Pakistan Medical Committee and till now it is not clear what is going to happen. As told by the Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel, under the PMDC Amendment Act 2022, the MDCAT test will be conducted by provinces for admission to MBBS and BDS programs across the country, in all medical and dental colleges and universities.

Moreover, he also made it clear that National Licensing Examination (NLE), which was mandatory for all medical graduates, has also been done away with. However, the authorities should also notify the medical students about what is going to happen with regard to procedure of the MDCAT test as they are confused about the whole development, the syllabus and whether it will be taken on one day or it will spiral on weeks. It may be recalled here that the PMC  brass has been disbanded which means that the PMDC has been restored, but the procedure is still to be followed as the bills is still to be passed from the joint session of the Parliament and it will also be sent to the  President for final approval, which means that it can take some time.

The students are happy about the restoration of PMDC but they are confused about the delay. It may be recalled here that when the PMDC was replaced by the Pakistan Medical Commission through presidential ordinance, the later PMC played havoc with the heath sector, medical education and its exams procedure.  The National Medical and Dental Collages Admission Test 2021 conducted by the PMC turned to be so controversial and full of flaws that it drew country-wide protests and backlash from students aspiring for medical profession. The protests continued for almost two months and there were around half a dozen cases registered against the NMDCAT 2021 Test last year in various courts including the Islamabad High Court. The main objection of the students and professionals as also of the Pakistan Medial Association (PMA) was that the test was not transparent as it was marred by a number of controversies and the students were not given any proof of their answer sheet.

It was a computer-based exam but the software prepared for the procedure was full of blunders and students reported disruption of the internet in exam centres as well during the exam hours. There were 62 different tests prepared for the students due to which the level of difficulty was not same. Some students got easy questions papers while others were subjected to rigorous and hard questions, also out of syllabus questions were reported, due to which a large number of brilliant students failed the exams while average students got passed. Similarly, the students were also not provided the copies of their answer sheets due to which they were not satisfied with the results.

Not only this, the medical entrance test fee was raised from Rs. 500 to Rs. 6000 which also caused a lot of difficulty for the poor students. The irony is that this year again, the PMC has continued with the same procedure and same fee structure. Only the TEPS company which conducted the last year test has been done away with. The registration for MDCAT 2022 is open and  Rs. 6000 is being charged per student.

Again this year, the PMC has continued with the last year controversial method of computer-based tests which will spread over three weeks’ time with students appearing on different dates which means they will get different questions papers with the level of difficulty will be different  again and more lamentably students will again be denied any proof of their test as they will not be given any copy of their answer sheets.

However, with the restoration of PMDC, the students will be able to get rid of so many controversies. Students demand that test should be conducted on same day and there should one test for all.

They also demand the test to be conducted on paper and copies of answer sheet be given to them. These are sound demands and with the restoration of PMDC, they will definitely be met with. To conclude one may express satisfaction over the passage of the above-mentioned Bill by Senate Standing Committee on Health as it has stopped the PMC from playing with the future of the students aspiring for the noble profession and save the future of medical students and practitioners. As a matter of fact, our doctors and health professional are second to none worldwide, and they have been played a pivotal role in the medical field the world over. America and the Gulf States are the top destination for our doctors where they are performing per excellence. Our doctors also performed diligently without caring for their own lives, during the Corona pandemic as frontline workers. Out medical students are very industrious  and they must be given fair environment to work without any undue interference and discrimination by any authority so that they can concentrate on their studies which needs a lot of concentration as medical is not an easy study or a profession.

It requires rigorous mental exercise and physical work to become doctor and then perform in a society where the disease onslaught has become unprecedented in nature.

Published in The Daily National Courier, August, 29 2022

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