PMC Decreases MDCAT Passing Percentage For BDS Entry Test 2022
The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) has decided to reduce the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) pass rate for Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) programs in all dental schools from 65% to 55%.
According to the decision, made at a meeting of the Medical and Dental Council chaired by PMC President Dr. Arshad Taqi, applicants with a 55% MDCAT score can now apply for admission to public and private dental schools.
Although there is no official clarification of the change, sources within the PMC attribute it to a low number of BDS approvals in the last academic session compared to previous years, along with protests against the PMC over the MDCAT 2022 holding rate. Protesters also called for a reasonable percentage discount to facilitate registration applications.
MDCAT 2022 will be held online from September 7th to 30th and its successful completion is mandatory for admission to medical and dental colleges in Pakistan. However, the success rate for the MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) application remains unchanged.
The PMC also approved minor changes to the subject weighting of the MDCAT program based on recommendations from the National Academic Board of Medicine and Dentistry. This includes removing the “drop” theme.
Also Read: PMC Issues Notice of Conduction of MDCAT Entry Test
The changes in the weighting of the MDCAT curriculum questions are thus as follows: Biology – 32% to 34%; Physics and Chemistry: 26.5% to 27%; English – 10% to 9%; and logical thinking: five to three percent. The next MDCAT will consist of 210 questions based on these percentages.
The Academic Council’s recommendations are based on input from provincial high school councils while ensuring that the MDCAT curriculum follows the 2006 national and provincial curriculum and is not extra-curricular.
Also Read: MDCAT Online Registration 2022, Syllabus, Last Date, Fee Structure, Entry Test & Online Apply