ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) recently responded to Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho's letter regarding the passing percentage of the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) for admissions in Public & Private Medical & Dental Colleges of Sindh.
Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Minister of Health & Population Welfare Department, Government of Sindh, wrote a letter to PMC on Nov 3. She urged to slash the pass percentage of MDCAT from 65 to 50 per cent for admissions in public and private medical and dental colleges in Sindh.
PMC, in their letter, has clarified the facts regarding the MDCAT syllabus and past admission criteria that the Sindh health minister had narrated in her letter.
The letter on behalf of Dr Arshad Taqi, President, PMC stated,
'If a student had been taught a selective syllabus by a school, or a public board, that, unfortunately, cannot be the basis of creating a national syllabus for an entrance exam for admission to the most competitive program being medicine and dentistry.'
Upon the health minister consideration of restricting admission to Sindh domiciled students, PMC President stated in a letter,
'There are hundreds of doctors who qualified from other parts of Pakistan and yet practice in Sindh and vice versa. Doctors are professionals who have the inherent right to practice anywhere in Pakistan. They cannot be, like any other citizen or professional in Pakistan, forced to earn a livelihood in a specified area.'
Dr Arshad concluded his reply by stating,
"There is no reason to consider lowering the passing marks of MDCAT from the current 65%, which was recommended by the National Academic Board and approved by the Council earlier. We will, however, be following the admission process closely as it proceeds. If we find that there is are a large number of seats left vacant after the closing of admissions in January 2022, we will certainly revisit the issue in consultation with you."
