Over 138,000 candidates appear in MDCAT 2026 across Pakistan

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE/KARACHI: More than 138,000 candidates appeared in the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) 2026 across Pakistan and at an international centre in Riyadh on Sunday, with the examination conducted under heightened security following previous concerns over paper leaks.

According to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), 138,160 candidates registered for this year’s test, with Punjab accounting for the largest share at 49,199, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 38,845 and Sindh with 34,233 candidates.

Balochistan had 9,923 registered candidates, while 2,761 were registered from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 1,721 from Gilgit-Baltistan, 1,245 from Islamabad and 237 at the Riyadh centre.

The test was held in 34 cities across the country and Riyadh.

The PMDC had listed centres in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Gujrat, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sahiwal, Layyah, Mianwali, Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab.

In Sindh, centres were established in Karachi, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Larkana, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas and Shaheed Benazirabad.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 38,845 candidates took the test at 59 centres across nine cities.

Peshawar had the largest number, with 16,722 candidates appearing at 19 centres, while centres were also established in Mardan, Swat, Lower Dir, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, Mansehra, Haripur and Abbottabad.

In Karachi, more than 10,900 candidates appeared at two centres — around 6,000 at NED University and 4,964 at Dow University’s Ojha Campus.

Candidates reported difficulties due to the heat, while some parents complained about inadequate facilities outside the examination centres, including a lack of drinking water and information desks.

The question paper reached the Karachi centres under tight security.

Officials said vehicles transporting the papers were equipped with CCTV cameras and their routes were kept confidential. A central monitoring room was also used to oversee the process

In Punjab, the University of Health Sciences (UHS) conducted the examination at 31 centres in 15 cities.

Lahore had six centres, where 12,030 candidates were registered.

In Rawalpindi, 6,240 candidates were scheduled to take the test at centres including Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Government Postgraduate College and Sadiq Public School.

More than 400 police personnel were deployed for security, while authorities arranged traffic management, parking, medical cover and uninterrupted power supply.

The examination began at 10am and comprised 180 multiple-choice questions. Candidates were barred from carrying mobile phones and other digital devices into the examination centres.

The PMDC said that separate question papers had been prepared for each province, with at least two versions for every province.

The papers were developed from a question bank containing around 8,000 questions, with experts from about 80 subjects involved in its preparation.

The council also removed the requirement for candidates to produce a juvenile card, allowing them to sit the examination after verification through their original marks sheets.

The MDCAT 2026 was originally scheduled for August 16 but was postponed to September 20.

The PMDC said the revised arrangements were aimed at ensuring a more transparent and secure admission test.