MDCAT entry exams conducted under SOPs

Thousands of aspirants appeared in the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT 2020) examinations in 198 centres across Pakistan, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

In Multan, 13 centers were set up in which nine thousand students are spearing in the medical and dental colleges entry test.

The Pakistan Medical Commission notified that MDCAT took place in designated centres under the strict implementation of the coronavirus-related standard operating procedures,

It is pertinent to note that the entry exam comprised 200 multiple-choice questions with the candidates given two hours to answer them in black and white. There was no negative marking. However, with each MCQ carrying five marks, the test carried 80 Biology questions, Chemistry 60, Physics 40, and English 20.

The TV channel reported that the National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) conducted the examinations.

According to the regulator for medical and dental education in the country, the test centres have been set up in Abbottabad, Bahawalpur, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Gwadar, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Haripur, Hassanabdal, Hyderabad, Karachi, Kharian/Jhelum, Lahore, Larkana, Mirpur, Mirpur Khas, Multan, Muzaffarabad, Nawabshah, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Rahimyar Khan, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Sialkot, Sukkur, and Swat.

Earlier, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Dr Faisal Sultan responding to the queries from various sectors about possible COVID-19 spread in the wake of MDCAT exam said with risk mitigation the two-and-half-hour medical entry test examination would not pose much risk of coronavirus spread.

In a tweet, Dr Faisal Sultan said, “For those comparing the MDCAT examination [one exam, of 2.5 hours] with the overall closure of the education sector, here is a graphic to put things in perspective.” 

Dr Faisal Sultan said no activity is zero risk but in epidemics, we do risk mitigation.

For those comparing MDCAT examination [one exam, of 2.5 hours] with the overall closure of the education sector, here is a graphic to put things in perspective! No activity is ZERO risk but in epidemics we do risk mitigation. Take a look= pic.twitter.com/8ocvPoBXD1

— Faisal Sultan (@fslsltn) November 26, 2020

He shared a comparison graph that demonstrates that the MDCAT entry exam would not pose much risk in comparison to the schools in which 500 million people attend educational institutions, schools, colleges for five to six days every week in classrooms sitting in small and enclosed environments for eight hours.

Dr Faisal Sultan said with limited assurance of COVID-19 SOPs the risk of COVID-19 is high.