Education Desk
Islamabad – A heated debate is sweeping medical‐entrants across Pakistan as the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) comes under fire for its examination-validity policy relating to the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) results of 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Students fear that the recently applied equal percentage/three-year validity rule may upend tight competition for MBBS/BDS seats — risking merit fairness, transparency and future plans.
What’s the Issue?
- Under the current PMDC Act, MDCAT results are declared valid for three years by the Council.
- Despite this, many students believe that earlier cohorts (MDCAT 2023 & 2024) are being treated with equal weightage to MDCAT 2025 – leading to fears of “old results” competing alongside new aspirants.
- The backlash is most intense around the “equal percentage criteria” being applied across three consecutive years, which students allege undermines their efforts under a given year-specific context.
- A parliamentary panel has openly questioned the fairness of this approach: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Health Services asked PMDC to “revisit the MDCAT policy” and raised concern over students whose high marks from previous years now threaten fresh candidates’ merit chances.
- The Council maintains it has no legal authority to limit or penalise eligible candidates from past years, if they meet the three-year validity window.
Student Sentiment & Chaos
- Many students who sat MDCAT 2024 feel disadvantaged, stating their efforts were based on a “one-year competition” mindset, but now they must face older candidates whose results remain valid.
- Others from MDCAT 2023 see this as a “second chance” but admit the lack of clarity and shifting criteria are causing stress, confusion and last-minute panic across test-prep centres.
- Observers warn that this could delay the medical-admission schedule as merit lists may be contested, and private preparatory classes are already seeing increased anxiety among aspirants.
Recent Related Developments
- The MDCAT 2025 was successfully held nationwide on October 26, 2025 under stringent security and transparency measures with over 140,000 candidates registered for ≈22,000 seats.
- PMDC earlier raised eligibility for MDCAT 2025 to 65 % in FSc (Pre-Medical) and mandated domicile-based exam centres to reduce skew and malpractice.
- The committee chaired by Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani has signalled it may push for “relative marking” or penalties for candidates from older years to protect current-year aspirants — a proposal the PMDC says would violate current law.
Why It Matters
- Merit fairness: If older results remain valid and are treated equally, high-score candidates from past years could dominate merit lists, squeezing out fresh competitors.
- Admission timing: Any clarification or policy shifts could delay the admission cycle for MBBS/BDS 2025. Experts in 2024 warned that unclear validity periods were hampering timely admissions.
- Student trust: Persistent policy ambiguity erodes trust in the examination and admissions system — crucial in a high-stakes test such as MDCAT.
- The Legal risk: The Council is caught between regulatory law (three-year validity) and political/committee pressure to revise policy — potential for court challenges is high.
What Next for Students?
- Keep documenting your MDCAT year (2023/24/25), percentage/marks and eligibility status.
- Monitor official notices from PMDC — check their website regularly.
- For aspirants of 2025: prepare under assumption that your result will count — but stay alert for late policy changes.
- For past-year candidates: ensure you meet all eligibility (domicile, boards, registration) so you remain eligible under the three-year rule.
- Seek counselling from higher-education advisors or legal aid if you believe you are unfairly disadvantaged.
