ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — The National Assembly’s health committee has declared the MDCAT 2026 results valid and told universities to go ahead with medical and dental admissions without further delay, saying students should not be left in uncertainty.
The Standing Committee on National Health Services, chaired by Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani, also directed the health ministry to cut the validity of MDCAT results from three years to one year, starting from the next academic year. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal told members the ministry had approved the change and sent it to the federal cabinet for approval.
No major irregularity, universities say
Vice-chancellors of the universities that conducted the entrance test told the committee on Wednesday that no major irregularity affecting the credibility of the examination had been reported. They said most complaints concerned question papers and answer keys, and had been examined and resolved by the universities.
A six-member team of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council that visited the Sukkur IBA examination centre also found no serious irregularity, the committee was told.
The committee said question papers should be given to students after future examinations, to make the process more transparent and help settle genuine complaints.
What changes for students
For this year’s candidates, the decision means results stand and admissions can proceed. The shorter validity period, once approved, would apply from next year, so a result would count only for the admission round that follows the test, rather than for three years. The committee said the change was meant to help fill vacant seats in medical and dental colleges.
Pressure on fees
The committee also pressed the council over private medical colleges charging more than the approved fees. Members were told the prescribed fee was Rs1.8 million a year, and that 35 institutions had been allowed higher fees, of up to Rs2.1 million, on the basis of audit reports.
Dr Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro, a committee member, said students had complained of being asked for an extra Rs600,000, and that she had given the council a list of 45 colleges charging more than Rs2.5 million. The council’s president, Dr Rizwan Taj, said show-cause notices had been issued.
The committee asked for the full list of colleges granted fee increases, the audit reports, and the relevant court orders, and called for the heaviest penalties on colleges overcharging students. It said colleges could not raise fees without the council’s prior approval, and voiced concern over reports that some students were being harassed or kept out of classes for refusing to pay. The Lahore High Court has separately upheld the council’s fee cap and ordered refunds at two colleges.
The minister also told the committee that the recommendations of the inquiry into the fire at the PIMS children’s nursery had been carried out, and that a further inquiry had been assigned to the interior ministry.
