The Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PM&DC) has announced a significant increase in fees for candidates taking the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT), set for September 22 this year.
The Educational Testing Evaluation Agency (ETEA) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been administering entrance tests for medical, dental, and engineering colleges for several years, charging each candidate Rs1,000.
Due to cheating issues reported in last year’s entrance exam, which were blamed on the shortcomings of government and other authorities, the PM&DC and Khyber Medical University (KMU) were assigned the task of conducting this year’s examination.
Despite the previous increase to Rs6,000 per candidate when PM&DC and KMU managed the exam last year, the PM&DC has now announced a further fee hike for this year’s entrance exam, raising the cost to Rs8,000 per candidate.
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Last year, ETEA was paid Rs46 million for managing the MDCAT for 46,000 candidates in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This year, with the fee increase, PM&DC and KMU are expected to receive approximately Rs360 million for the same number of candidates.
Government officials with experience in managing entrance exams have stated that the actual cost per candidate is under Rs1,000. They argue that the recent fee hike lacks justification.
Talking to a national daily, KMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Ziaul Haq stated that the institution is not responsible for the fee increase. He stated that the fee collection is managed by the PM&DC, which then allocates a portion to KMU for organizing the test.
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