ISLAMABAD: The government has “finalised all the arrangements”, as at least 204,000 candidates are going to appear for the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) to be held across Pakistan today.

In addition to the candidates taking the test in the country, at least 462 overseas candidates have registered for the test, which will be conducted at centres in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Minister of National Health Services Abdul Qadir Patel stated that all the arrangements for the test had been finalised and security arrangements were also made in all provinces along with Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Islamabad.

Test is also being held for overseas candidates in UAE, Saudi Arabia

He said that Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University was conducting the exam for the students of Islamabad, AJK and GB.

“As many as 21,188 candidates (14,656 girls and 6,532 boys) from Islamabad will appear in the exam. For them, centres have been made at Arid Agriculture University, Allama Iqbal Open University and at 18 educational institutions of the Federal Directorate of Education,” he added. Mr Patel said that 462 students would appear at foreign centres established in Saudi Arabia and UAE.

“Staff of the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) and federal and provincial universities will ensure that the exams would be held transparently,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding with the Pakistan Single Window, a government facility for parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardised information and documents with a single entry point to fulfil all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2022