PMC requested to postpone MDCAT due to flood devastation

In view of the devastation caused by monsoon rains in Sindh and Balochistan and flash floods in Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern Punjab, the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHS,R&C) has requested the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) to postpone the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) starting on September 7, 2022, officials said on Friday.

“In view of heavy monsoon rains across Pakistan, the federal government has declared sixty-six (66) districts of the country as calamity-hit. Heavy rainfall, especially in Sindh and Balochistan, and flash flooding in Gilgit-Baltistan, South Punjab and parts of Khyber Palditunkhwa has caused damage to the basic health infrastructure, roadlinks/communications and educational institutions,” Dr Baseer Khan Achakzai, director regulations of the NHS,R&C, wrote to the PMC on Friday.

As many as 200,000 students have registered themselves with the PMC for the MDCAT, which were supposed to start on September 7 and continue till September 30, but officials in the National Health Services believed that due to vast inundated areas of Sindh, Balochistan and South Punjab and flash floods in Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir due to

heavy rains, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) incidents, it would not be possible to do so.

The NHS official said the provincial governments of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan were desperately trying to save human lives in the calamity-hit areas.

“Looking at the gravity of the situation and the magnitude of infrastructure damage, the students in these disaster-hit areas are likely to be left out of the MDCAT exam due to accessibility and breakdown of communication links. which may jeopardize their chances of their admission in medical colleges in the prevailing situation across Pakistan,” Dr Achakzai said.

He added that in view of the devastation caused by the floods, the PMC had beenrequested to postpone the MDCAT for now. Commenting on the request from the National Health Services, an official of the PMC said they had received a copy of letter through “unofficial means”, and consultation would be carried out with all stakeholders to postpone the exam.

At the moment, the PMC is without its president and vice president as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has de-notified seven members of the Medical and Dental Council of the PMC, and now only two ex-officio members -- the federal secretary health and the surgeon general of the Pakistan Army -- are serving as members of the council.