Islamabad: With over 140,125 candidates set to appear in the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) 2025 on October 26, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has directed all exam-conducting universities to carry out pre-hoc analysis of question papers to ensure there are no out-of-syllabus or incorrect questions, and that the paper fully reflects the PMDC curriculum in both letter and spirit.
The nationwide test will be held at 35 centres, including an international venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The exam will be administered by the University of Health Sciences Lahore, Sukkur IBA University, Khyber Medical University Peshawar, Bolan University of Medical and Health Sciences Quetta, and Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) Islamabad, as nominated by the federal and provincial authorities.
Clarifying its role, the PMDC said it will not conduct the exam directly, but has issued a unified exam structure, policy guidelines and access to a national item bank to ensure uniformity across provinces.
The regulator said the universities were bound to strictly follow PMDC standards during paper setting, review, pre-hoc analysis, printing and distribution of exam material.
The regulator said secrecy and confidentiality of papers must be maintained, and sealed packets should only be opened in the presence of official witnesses at examination centres.
The universities have also been instructed to issue admit cards/roll number slips at least seven days before the test so that candidates have enough time for verification and preparation. They have further been tasked to compile and announce MDCAT results within seven days of the examination to ensure transparency and timely communication.
PMDC said it will monitor the process as a regulator to ensure that the academic standards of medical and dental admissions are not compromised at any stage.
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