ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has directed universities to conduct a ‘pre-hoc analysis’ for the Medical and Dental Colleges’ Admission Test (MDCAT) to be held on October 26 (Sunday).

As many as 140,125 candidates have registered for the test from across the country.

A pre-hoc analysis for an exam refers to an analysis of assessment items. It is done to ensure the test accuracy and identify any potential flaws in the questions. In the post-hoc analysis, same thing is done after the exam.

The PMDC said that universities will ensure that candidates received their admit cards/roll number slips seven days prior to the examination enabling them sufficient time for preparation and verification.

Over 140,000 candidates have registered from across country for test to be held on Oct 26, says PMDC

It is worth mentioning that every year, after MDCAT, a controversy triggers regarding out-of-course questions and providing all wrong options for the multiple choice questions. A number of times universities and the PMDC accepted that either the options were wrong or the difficulty level was not according to the criteria due to which grace marks were given to candidates.

The PMDC has directed universities to ensure that the development, pre-hoc analysis and printing of the MDCAT question papers will be conducted with the highest standards so that papers are aligned with the PMDC syllabus in letter and spirit and no question is incorrect or out of syllabus. The secrecy and confidentiality of all question papers will be strictly maintained by the universities and they will only be opened in the presence of official witnesses.

MDCAT will be conducted nationwide at 35 venues, including one international centre i.e. Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) at the same time.

The test will be conducted through different universities — University of Health Sciences Lahore, Sukkur IBA University, Khyber Medical University Peshawar, Bolan University of Medical and Health Sciences Quetta, and Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Islamabad.

“MDCAT is going to be conducted by universities nominated by the federal and provincial authorities, not by PMDC. However, PMDC as a regulator and as per its legal mandate has given all the exam conducting universities the policy and structure of the MDCAT examination well in advance, including access to a uniform, national item bank,” a spokesperson said.

“All the exam conducting universities are under an obligation to ensure that PMDC standards are strictly followed while paper setting, development and printing. All the admitting universities have to make the necessary arrangements to facilitate the large number of applicants across all provinces and international center,” he said.

“The exam conducting universities have to fully align with the PMDC curriculum and syllabus, ensuring that the test reflects the educational objectives and standards required for medical and dental education. The university will also prepare the results of the MDCAT and officially declare it within seven days of the examination, ensuring timely communication and transparency for all candidates,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2025