LAHORE: The Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC) has reportedly turned down the requests of senior representatives of medical universities from two provinces – Punjab and Sindh – for reconsidering the council’s decision to collect the Medical & Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) question papers from candidates immediately after the examination.

The PMDC refused the requests of the universities’ representatives during an online meeting held in this regard here on Thursday, increasing resentment among candidates ahead of the Sept 20 MDCAT.

An official privy to the development says that the issue took a new turn when senior health department officials questioned the legal basis of the PMDC’s directive, pointing out that the council cannot unilaterally determine the policy and standards governing the provincial MDCAT.

He says the officials drew attention to Section 17(1) of the PMDC Act 2022, which provides that each province shall conduct a single MDCAT “as per the policy and standards approved by the provincial governments,” while the dates of the test are to be approved by the council.

Health dept officials cite PMDC Act 2022, questioning council’s unilateral approach

The official says the provision raises a fundamental question about whether the PMDC could, through a simple directive/letter issued to admitting universities, unilaterally alter an established examination procedure without the approval of the concerned provincial governments.

“The point assumes greater importance in Punjab, where the University of Health Sciences (UHS) has been handing over MDCAT question papers to the candidates immediately after the examination since 2017,” the official says.

About the objections raised by Punjab and Sindh, he said that the issue was discussed again in Thursday’s online meeting of all admitting universities convened by the PMDC to review arrangements for the Sept 20 MDCAT.

He says that as representatives of Punjab and Sindh raised their concerns over the recent PMDC directive, the council refused to withdraw or modify the decision.

Following the decision, the official says, the controversy has now moved beyond the question of examination practice, to the respective statutory roles of the federal regulator, provincial governments and admitting universities.

Quoting the rules, he says that Section 17(1) of the PMDC Act specifically places the policy and standards of the provincial MDCAT with the respective provincial governments, while the PMDC’s role under the provision includes approving the dates of the test.

A recent judicial discussion on the same provision has also pointed out this distinction between provincial responsibility for conducting the test and the council’s statutory role.

The senior officials say this distinction cannot simply be bypassed through an administrative directive to the universities concerned.

They argue that if the question paper practice is to be changed, the competent provincial authority should first take a decision in accordance with the law and the applicable admission policy.

They say that the decision has triggered an uproar among MDCAT candidates, many of whom belong to Gen Z and are questioning, what they describe as a denial of their basic right to retain a record of the examination they have taken.

They say that the PMDC had previously described itself as a body providing unified regulatory standards for the MDCAT, while responsibility for physically conducting the test and making administrative arrangements in this regard rests with provincial authorities concerned and the universities.

The council’s position in Thursday’s meeting suggests that it intends to enforce the new paper-collection arrangement for the Sept 20 MDCAT despite the objections raised by Punjab and Sindh.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2026