Can students reuse their MDCAT scores? NA health panel presses for clarity on three-year rule
The law gives MDCAT results a three-year life, but lawmakers questioned how that rule is being applied. The panel also heard complaints about extra college fees and sought answers over the PIMS nursery fire.
ISLAMABAD: Can a student who took the Medical and Dental College Admission Test last year use that score to apply for an MBBS or BDS seat this year? The law says MDCAT results are valid for three years. At Parliament House on Wednesday, the chairman of the National Assembly’s health committee asked why that provision had yet to be put into practice.
Committee Chairman Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani raised the issue with Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal. The minister said the Health Ministry had cleared the matter and forwarded it to the federal cabinet for approval. He suggested that the committee write to the cabinet secretary. The exchange did not clarify what exactly was sent to the cabinet or which earlier scores universities would accept for the current intake.
What the Law Says About Older Scores
Section 17(4) of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Act, 2022 gives MDCAT results three years of validity nationwide. A result obtained in one province can be used elsewhere in the country, while provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad Capital Territory give preference to applicants with their respective domiciles. For students who already have a score, the question is how admitting universities will apply that provision when processing applications and compiling merit lists.
Two accounts of Wednesday’s meeting described different positions on future score validity. ARY News reported that Malani pressed the ministry to implement the three-year provision. A later Associated Press of Pakistan report said the committee wanted the 2026 results to stand and admissions to proceed, while recommending a one-year validity period from the next academic year to address vacant seats. A committee recommendation does not itself amend the three-year provision in the Act.
The panel also reviewed the conduct of this year’s test. According to APP, vice-chancellors said complaints mainly concerned question papers and answer keys and had been addressed by the universities concerned. A six-member Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) team reported no serious irregularity at the Sukkur IBA examination centre it visited. Malani also sought a two-year record of private medical college inspections, including what action followed any breaches.
PMDC Issues Notices Over Extra College Charges
MNA Dr Shazia Soomro told the panel that the PMDC had been given a list of 45 colleges allegedly charging more than Rs2.5 million (25 lakh). She said students had also reported demands for Rs600,000 (6 lakh) in additional payments. Kamal questioned the scale of the reported charges and told the panel that 35 institutions had been permitted to charge annual tuition of up to Rs2.1 million after submitting details of their costs. The 45 colleges cited in the complaints and the 35 institutions cited by the minister were separate figures raised in the discussion.
The PMDC president said the regulator had issued show-cause notices over extra-fee complaints. Soomro proposed cancelling the registration of colleges found to be overcharging. The council president said cancellation was a last resort. The briefing did not report any final finding against the colleges served with notices.
The PMDC’s published framework set tuition, inclusive of ancillary charges, at Rs1.8 million for 2024–25 and Rs1.89 million for 2025–26 for institutions without an approved increase. Its March 2026 notification addressed institution-specific requests for higher fees. Whether a bill exceeds the approved amount therefore depends on the college, the applicable session and any increase authorised by the regulator.
Soomro Seeks PIMS Audit as Minister Says Further Inquiry Rests with Interior Ministry
Soomro also questioned what action had followed the August 26 nursery fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, which killed 14 newborns. She said she had walked out of an earlier committee meeting over the issue and asked for an audit of Rs22 billion she said PIMS had received over three years. No audit findings were presented during the reported exchange.
Kamal said the Health Ministry had implemented the inquiry recommendations that fell within its remit and that further investigation had been handed to the Interior Ministry. After the interim report in August, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the suspension of eight officials and directed that criminal proceedings be initiated. The inquiry documented gaps in fire detection and emergency preparedness. A subsequent report identified an electrical fault in an air-conditioner supply cable as the most probable ignition source. Wednesday’s exchange gave no timetable for the audit Soomro requested or an update on the outcome of the further investigation.
