65,000 to take MDCAT tomorrow

LAHORE: Around 65,000 candidates will appear in Punjab Medical & Dental Colleges’ Admission Test (MDCAT) to be conducted by University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Sunday for admission to public or private medical/dental colleges of the province. 

A UHS spokesperson said the Punjab government had finalised the arrangements for the test and deputed senior bureaucrats as monitoring officers whereas medical professors would conduct the test. Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners of respective districts will act as focal persons to look after the arrangements of the test. UHS has deputed around 5,500 invigilators and around 1,000 superintendents and deputy superintendents for the conduct of the test.

This year, the candidates shall compete for 3,405 MBBS seats in 17 public sector medical colleges and 216 BDS seats in three public dental colleges of the province. Besides, there are 2,590 MBBS seats available in 21 private medical colleges and 555 BDS seats in nine private dental colleges affiliated with the university.

The test shall be held simultaneously at 28 centres established in 13 cities of Punjab, including Lahore, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Multan, Bahawalpur, Rahimyar Khan, Sargodha, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Hassan Abdal.

The test shall start at 09:00 am.  The candidates, however, must reach their respective centres at least one hour before the commencement of the test as all the centres would be sealed at 08:15am and nobody would be allowed to enter after that.

The test shall comprise 220 multiple choice questions (MCQs), divided into four sections namely Biology (88 MCQs), Chemistry (58 MCQs), Physics (44 MCQs) and English (30 MCQs). Total duration of the test shall be two and a half hour.  After the test, the candidates shall be required to write a separate test comprising questions related to aptitude and feedback. Extra 30 minutes will be given to the candidates to write this test which shall have no weightage in the admission test score.

Total marks of the test are 1100. There shall be negative marking in the test like previous years and while 05 marks will be awarded for each correct answer, one mark will be deducted for each incorrect answer.

UHS Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Junaid Sarfraz Khan said the chief secretary Punjab had directed all the departments concerned to make immaculate arrangements for smooth and flawless conduct of the admission test.  He also said district police officers would be responsible for security and deployment of police personnel at the test centres. Police would ensure extensive patrolling and technical sweeping of the area before the commencement of the test.

Walk-through gates and mobile jammers would be installed at all major centres. Restrictions would be imposed under Section 144 on the entry of unauthorised persons on the premises of examination centres, UHS VC informed.

He said that parents and other attendants of the candidates would be provided waiting areas near test centres. Traffic police had been directed to make proper traffic and parking arrangements to ensure smooth flow of traffic near the test centres, he said.

Emergency healthcare services will be ensured at all centres which would include fully-equipped ambulances, doctors along with paramedical staff and emergency medicines. Moreover, the nearest teaching hospital or district headquarters hospital would be on high alert to ensure a state of readiness to meet any emergency. Arrangements have also been made with power supply companies to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply at all the centres during the test.  

UHS has already issued roll numbers and instructions to the candidates. Candidates are not allowed to bring any cell phones, calculators, laptops, watches or notes to the test centre. Each candidate has already been issued admittance card with specific QR code.