47,501 candidates appear in Punjab MDCAT

LAHORE: The Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) 2026 was conducted peacefully and smoothly across Punjab on Sunday, with no untoward incident reported from any of the 31 examination centres established in 15 cities. The test was conducted by the University of Health Sciences (UHS). It started at 10: 00am and concluded at 1: 00pm. According to the attendance data, 49, 203 candidates were registered for the test, of whom 47, 501 appeared while 1, 702 remained absent. The city-wise attendance was: Lahore 11, 480, Faisalabad 5, 234, Dera Ghazi Khan 1, 814, Rawalpindi 6, 045, Gujrat 1, 356, Sahiwal 2, 367, Sargodha 1, 857, Gujranwala 2, 495, Sialkot 1, 912, Bahawalpur 2, 213, Rahim Yar Khan 1, 020, Multan 6, 911, Layyah 1, 571, Bahawalnagar 545 and Mianwali 681. UHS Vice Chancellor Maj Gen Prof Sohail Sabir (Retd) personally visited all six MDCAT examination centres in Lahore along with former UHS Vice Chancellor Prof Nadia Naseem and other officers. During the visits, he met officials, vice chancellors, principals, focal persons and senior faculty members performing duties at the examination centres and reviewed arrangements for candidates. Prof Sohail Sabir expressed satisfaction over the peaceful and orderly conduct of the examination and appreciated the commitment of everyone involved in the process. The Vice Chancellor said the smooth conduct of MDCAT was the result of a coordinated effort by UHS, district administrations, police, medical universities, colleges, examination staff and other government departments. He thanked officers, faculty members, invigilators, security personnel and support staff for performing their responsibilities with dedication and said the successful completion of the examination was the result of the collective efforts of everyone associated with the exercise. Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department Punjab Azmat Mahmud also visited MDCAT centres in Lahore and reviewed the arrangements. He expressed satisfaction over the overall conduct of the examination and coordination among the departments and institutions involved. Extensive security and monitoring arrangements were put in place at all examination centres. NADRA biometric verification, walk-through gates, security personnel, scanners, medical facilities and other arrangements were provided to ensure a secure examination environment. District administrations in the respective cities facilitated candidates and their parents through arrangements for security, traffic management, parking, drinking water, medical assistance, emergency response and crowd management. Around 3, 700 invigilators and supervisory staff performed duties at the examination centres under the supervision of UHS focal persons. Vice Chancellors and Pro Vice Chancellors of public-sector medical universities served as Regional Incharges, while principals of public-sector medical and dental colleges performed duties as Centre Incharges. Senior faculty members and officers of the Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department were also deployed for monitoring. In Lahore and other cities, parents waited outside examination centres throughout the test. Many parents were seen offering prayers for the success of their sons and daughters appearing in the admission test. Like previous years, UHS handed over the carbon copies of the response forms to candidates immediately after conclusion of the test. The University will release the MDCAT 2026 answer key after 6: 00pm today. Candidates will be able to calculate their expected scores themselves by matching their carbon copies of the response forms with the official answer key. The official MDCAT result is expected to be declared within one week. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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