SENATE PASSED PMDC BILL: PROVINCIAL MDCAT TO BE CONDUCTED


The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination passed the bill for the restoration of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) was dissolved by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last week.

Minister For National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination (NHSRC) Abdul Qadir Patel said that now the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) will be conducted provincially. Provincial Public Sector Medical University will conduct the MDCAT for their respective provinces as per previous and the council will have representation of all provinces, health bodies, and universities.

It means that now UHS will conduct MDCAT 2022 for admission to Medical and Dental Colleges in Punjab, KMU MDCAT will be conducted in KP for admission to KP Government and Private Medical and dental colleges of KP and also Sindh shall conduct its own entrance test separately.

Mr. Abdul Qadir said the Bill will also repeal the National Licensing Examination which was conducted to give licenses to medical students. Hopefully, the practice NLE will be abolished.

The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination was held at Parliament House in Islamabad on Tuesday. It is pertinent to mention here that PMC was formulated through a presidential order in 2019 in Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaaf led Government.

The Senate body passed the Bill titled “The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Bill, 2022” by majority votes of ration 7:1. The bill was introduced by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla and Senator Abdul Qadir Patel.