ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has approved the admissions policy for bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery (MBBS) and bachelor of dental surgery (BDS) programmes for the 2020-21 session.

Half of the weightage for admissions will be on an entrance test, 40pc will be on FSc and 10pc will be on SSC. Candidates must have scored at least 65pc in premedical FSc or its equivalent to be eligible for the Medical and Dental Colleges Admissions Test (MDCAT) or the entrance test, and only students who score at least 33pc on their entrance test will be eligible for admissions.

In a meeting, the PMDC allowed admitting universities to conduct the MDCAT or entrance tests for the 2020-21 session between Sept 19 and Oct 25 across the country including Azad Kashmir, while adhering to standard operating procedure to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

According to a statement issued by the council, approximately 250,000 students will sit the MDCAT, of which around 18,000 students will be enrolled in medical and dental colleges.

PMDC Registrar retired Brig Dr Hafizuddin Ahmed Siddiqui said that the council has revised the admissions policy to facilitate students, in line with merit. He said that there will be 200 multiple choice questions (MCQ) with four options on the MDCAT in all the provinces and federal territories.

The MCQs will be broken into 80 biology questions, 60 chemistry questions, 40 physics questions and 20 English questions. Candidates will have two hours and thirty minutes to attempt the entire test.

He said the council has directed all admitting universities to complete their admissions in time, and regulations related to the admissions policy have been shared on the PMDC’s website.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2020