Islamabad: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Health on Friday both praised and pressured the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), lauding it for conducting the most transparent MDCAT in recent years while simultaneously directing it to “devise a mechanism” to discourage last year’s high-scoring candidates from affecting this year’s merit list, a move that experts said could contradict the PMDC Act.
Chaired by Dr. Mahesh Kumar Malani, the committee congratulated the PMDC and provincial universities for organizing MDCAT 2025 “smoothly and transparently,” with members acknowledging that the exam was free of major controversy and paper leaks for the first time in years.
However, the same meeting took a sharp turn when members directed the PMDC to immediately introduce measures to limit admissions for candidates who secured between 90 and 98 percent marks in last year’s test but did not enroll and are now eligible again under PMDC’s three-year validity rule.
The committee warned that the presence of those high scorers in this year’s pool could lower the merit chances of fresh candidates. It proposed that PMDC should consider ‘relative marking or deducting 10 percent marks’ for students applying a year late and 20 percent for those two years late, a policy previously used by the defunct Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC).
Chairman Mahesh Malani said if PMDC failed to act within two to three days, the Council would be summoned “in person” to explain its inaction. “We will not hesitate to take strict measures if this issue is ignored,” he warned.
The committee further recommended reviewing the weightage given to board examination marks to ensure fairness in merit-based admissions, and directed PMDC and the Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC) to jointly address complaints from O- and A-Level students about equivalence and evaluation criteria.
On the other hand, PMDC officials stated that under the existing PMDC Act, MDCAT results remain valid for three years, and the Council has no legal authority to bar eligible candidates or manipulate their scores. “If we restrict previous candidates who remain on merit, it will be a violation of the law and could be challenged in court,” a senior PMDC official told the committee. “This year’s MDCAT was historically free of controversy and any unlawful action could risk that credibility.”
Vice Chancellors of the admitting universities from all four provinces and the federal capital also endorsed the PMDC’s stance, saying that under the PMDC Act, students who had cleared the MDCAT in the previous three years could not be barred from admission if they were on merit.
Acknowledging the legal position, Chairman Malani conceded that PMDC officials were correct according to the Act but argued that “the Council still has discretion” to use relative marking or percentage deductions “to protect this year’s merit.” He insisted the Council must take steps to discourage repeat candidates “without violating the spirit of the law.”
Earlier, the committee opened the meeting by commending PMDC and provincial universities for conducting the MDCAT 2025 in a fair and standardized manner “aligned with international norms.” Members said complaints were minimal this year and largely related to center management rather than exam content or fairness.
PMDC President Prof. Rizwan Taj and Director Examinations Dr. Imdad Ali briefed the committee that the exam was conducted across all provinces with separate question papers to avoid leaks, strict biometric verification, and multiple identity options to facilitate candidates. He said improved coordination between PMDC and provincial universities had helped restore confidence in the testing process.
Vice Chancellors from Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa told the committee that there had been no paper leaks or cases of impersonation this year. Sukkur IBA University’s representative said 18 candidates scored 170 marks or above, while Balochistan’s Bolan University reported only eight cases of unfair means out of thousands.
Chairman Malani congratulated PMDC, saying, “This is the first MDCAT in recent memory conducted without scandal or controversy. The Council and universities deserve appreciation for their planning and coordination.”
However, he added that the committee’s oversight would continue and urged PMDC to finalize within days a policy addressing the issue of previous-year candidates. “Our goal is to ensure transparency, merit, and fairness — not just in conduct but in outcomes,” he said.
The meeting was attended by MNAs Dr. Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro, Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani, Ms. Sabheen Ghoury, Ms. Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Ms. Farah Naz Akbar, Dr. Nikhat Shakeel Khan, Dr. Darshan, Ms. Aliya Kamran, Ms. Shaista Khan, and Ms. Farrukh Khan, along with PMDC President Prof. Rizwan Taj, Vice Chancellors of all MDCAT-conducting universities, and senior officials of the Ministry of National Health Services.
Ends