Staff Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: The Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) 2026 will be held across Pakistan tomorrow (Sunday Sept 20th) with more than 138,000 candidates registered for the examination.
According to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), a total of 138,160 candidates have registered for the test, with 34 examination centres established across the country. An additional centre has also been set up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The three-hour test will comprise 180 multiple-choice questions carrying 180 marks. The paper will include questions from Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English and IQ, while there will be no negative marking.
Candidates have been instructed to reach their examination centres by 7am. The passing threshold is 55% for admission to medical colleges and 50% for dental colleges.
PMDC said separate question papers have been prepared for each province to prevent cancellation of the nationwide examination in case of a paper leak. The answer key will be uploaded after the test, while candidates will be allowed to retain a carbon copy of their answers for transparency.
Candidates will be required to remain seated until the examination concludes.
The University of Health Sciences Lahore will conduct the test in Punjab, Sukkur IBA in Sindh, Khyber Medical University in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Bolan University of Medical and Health Sciences in Balochistan. Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University Islamabad will oversee the examination in Islamabad, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Riyadh.
An additional centre has been established in Islamabad for candidates holding Balochistan domicile, while a separate facility has also been arranged for students from Azad Kashmir. Due to internet-related issues, AJK candidates will be provided with hard copies of the examination material.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said the Ministry of Health and PMDC would monitor the examination, while responsibility for conducting the test has been assigned to the respective provinces and medical universities.