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LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education, Khawaja Salman Rafique, visited the University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Saturday to review the final arrangements for the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) 2025, scheduled to be held on Sunday across Punjab. The minister visited the MDCAT Control Office at UHS, where he met with the monitoring staff and observed live coordination with examination centres through the command and control system. The UHS vice-chancellor Prof. Ahsan Waheed Rathore briefed the minister that the MDCAT examination material had reached 11 cities of the province, excluding Lahore, where it had been safely placed in district treasuries under strict police supervision. He explained that multi-layered security and SOPs were followed at every stage — from paper making and printing to packaging and transportation. He said that, with the support of Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Azmat Mehmood, immaculate arrangements had been made at 27 centres in 12 cities of Punjab. Khawaja Salman Rafique interacted with members of the monitoring teams and appreciated their coordination with district administrations, focal persons and institutions. He commended the UHS team for their dedication and professionalism. He said that Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif was keen on improving medical education and healthcare facilities to international standards, adding that the admission process in medical and dental colleges had been made fully transparent and merit-based. The minister further shared that more than 500 new MBBS seats would be added in the province’s medical colleges after approval from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). He visited monitoring room and lauded the real-time surveillance system established at UHS. Around 50,000 candidates will take the MDCAT on Sunday across Punjab, including 13,000 males and 37,000 females. The test will be conducted simultaneously in Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Rahim Yar Khan. Lahore will host largest number of candidates at major venues such as the University of the Punjab, Lahore College for Women University, Government Graduate College for Women Gulberg, University of Education Township, BISE Lahore, and Divisional Public School Township, where around 12,000 candidates are expected to appear. Other key centres include Divisional Public Schools in Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sahiwal, and Dera Ghazi Khan; University of Sargodha; Islamia University Bahawalpur; Khawaja Fareed University Rahim Yar Khan; The Women University Multan; and University of Chenab Gujrat. UHS teams, along with local administration, reviewed seating plans, biometric verification setups, and security measures on Saturday. Training of supervisory and invigilation staff was also completed. Police, Civil Defence, Rescue 1122, and Special Branch personnel will remain on duty until the exam concludes. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
