MDCAT Retake Exams Conducted Amid High Demand and Scoial Pressures

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has given the SZABMU (Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University) a deadline to conduct the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) again within two weeks. The order follows the protests of 24,000 candidates who appeared in the test on September 22 and requested intervention from the authorities.

The candidates, anticipating potentially limited seats for admission to the available 854 spots in medical and dental colleges, cited concerns over their chances of securing admission. This is especially pertinent as less than 55% of students typically pass the MDCAT exam, typically conducted annually by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). However, this year, 70.32% of students secured an overall aggregate, which raised questions around the fairness and transparency of the evaluation process.

The test was successfully conducted simultaneously in six cities across Sindh by the Sukkur IBA Testing Services (STS). CEO Prof. Dr. Asif Ahmed Shaikh ensured the exam was conducted with strict security and integrity measures in place, aimed at guaranteeing a transparent process. In reflection, this added to the trust of parents and guardians participating in the exam who were initially upset when the test began two hours late. Despite this initial delay, an impressive 83.47% of 38,684 registered candidates, appeared for the re-exam, marking a significant increase in participation since the initial examination.

Now, as results have been released, with more than half the scores securing them a spot for admission to various medical and dental colleges across the country, parents and students across the nation are holding their breath as others anxiously await their designated turn to take the exam as earliest as possible, this increasing agony faced by thousands of students encourages a deeper reflection on fair, transparent assessment practices and they everything they bring forward soonest possible to make everything all good and practiced or working effectively having smoother applications and gives an entrance for free smooth futures of practices across all colleges