PESHAWAR: Medical educationists are concerned over delay in admission to medical and dental colleges, saying Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (MDCAT) should allow admitting universities to conduct Medical Dental Colleges Admission Test on their own so the admission could be held in a timely manner.

“Currently, Khyber Medical University, the admitting university in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has completed process of admission but it couldn’t start it because of re-conduct of MDCAT in other provinces,” said a medical educationist. According to him, eligible students are allowed to take MDCAT in their respective provinces under the direct supervision of the relevant admitting university to ensure transparent process in all provinces.

He said that provincial government should recommend and nominate admitting universities for a term of at least 10 years to formulate strategies under the guidance of PMDC to ensure long term policies. “The validity of MDCAT results should be one year. This will ensure that the results remain relevant to the respective admission cycle,” he added.

Say varsities should be permitted to announce schedule for MDCAT

Another expert said that universities should be permitted to announce schedule for MDCAT in light of weather conditions and other factors. He said that universities should be empowered to register and announce results of candidates through their own system. “No matter, fee from students of all provinces should go to PMDC, which should act as supervisory body for conducting error-free MDCAT,” he added.

He said that prevention of cheating and impersonation was required through Nadra by respective universities that lent transparency to the process. He said that a uniform syllabus in light with the province’s curricula was required to reduce confusion and complaints of out-of-syllabus questions. MDCAT should carry 100 to 120 multiple choice questions (MCQs) to be solved within two-and-half hours.

“Most importantly, universities should be directed to conduct computer-based testing for MDCAT to increase security, decrease errors and ensure reliability of examination,” said the expert.

He said that PMDC, the regulator of medical education in the country, should also put in place a mechanism to conduct audit after the test and examine the standard of questions and receive feedback from stakeholders.

To redress complaints of applicants, an online portal was required to listen to students’ grievances and ensure smoothness of the exercise, he said. He added that each university should set up a response team to address grievances of candidates within three days to restore trust of people in the examination.

Experts also expressed concern over growing number of tuition centres, which according to them, charged students heavily for preparing them for MDCAT. They said that the recent MDCAT, conducted by KMU in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, showed that none of the 100 top position-holders was among the top scorers of MDCAT which nullified the credibility of tuition centres and boards of intermediate and secondary schools examination.

“MDCAT should be conducted 10 days after the end of FSc examination to save extra money of students being spent on tuitions and additional studies,” they said. Presently, students continue to study for three months even after end of FSc examination to prepare themselves for MDCAT.

Experts said that admitting universities in collaboration with PMDC and respective provincial governments should monitor private academies to ensure their compliance with the prescribed standards.

“These suggestions if put into practice will help PMDC and admitting universities in conducting smooth and transparent MDCAT.

Students of one province will not suffer due to issues in other province as is happening now. KMU has long ago completed the process but admissions are on hold due to issues in other provinces,” they said.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2024