BeNewz
Related Articles
–Warns incomplete applications will be cancelled
BeNewz
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has announced that the online registration portal for the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) 2026 will reopen for five days, from August 17 to August 21, 2026, giving another chance to candidates who could not complete their registration during the earlier windows.
According to a public notice issued by the council’s Examination wing, referencing its earlier notices of July 20 and July 22, 2026, the portal will be made available again “with prescribed fee to facilitate any remaining candidate(s)” ahead of the test now scheduled for September 20, 2026. The notice cautions that PMDC “reserves the right to cancel any incomplete application(s),” urging students to ensure all sections of their forms, along with the required fee payment, are finalised within the five-day window.
Test Date Pushed Back by More Than a Month
The reopening comes against the backdrop of a broader shake-up in this year’s MDCAT schedule. The exam, originally set for August 16, was postponed to September 20 on the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with PMDC saying the move was meant to ensure a “smooth, secure and transparent conduct” of the test while facilitating candidates. The council said all other terms and arrangements, including the syllabus, would remain unchanged, with only the date shifted.
Officials had earlier told a Senate Standing Committee on Health subcommittee that around 135,000 candidates are expected to sit the exam this year across 36 centres, including 35 in Pakistan and one in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Lawmakers, including Senator Anusha Rahman, said the committee had received roughly 1,000 complaints from students over the conduct and timing of the test, with concerns also raised about syllabus discrepancies between FSc and A-Level candidates and overlap with intermediate examinations.
AJK Internet Shutdown Cited as a Factor
Reports indicate that in the days before the postponement, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir health secretary had met PMDC officials to flag difficulties faced by students in the region in completing their registration because of a prolonged internet shutdown, a factor that appears to have fed into the decision to extend the registration timeline further.
Social Media Reaction
News of the reopened portal spread quickly among aspiring medical students on social media, with many welcoming the extra window as a relief after weeks of uncertainty over shifting dates. Education pages and coaching platforms shared the new August 17–21 dates widely, while some students used the moment to renew complaints about the frequent changes to this year’s exam calendar, recalling that the test had already been pushed back once from August 16 to September 20. PMDC itself has repeatedly urged candidates on its official channels to rely only on verified information from its website and social media accounts, warning against unofficial sources and rumours that tend to circulate whenever MDCAT news breaks.
What Candidates Are Being Told to Do
The council has advised remaining candidates to register through the official PMDC portal at mdcat.pmdc.pk within the announced window, pay the prescribed fee, and carefully review every section of the form — including uploaded documents such as CNIC/B-Form, matriculation certificate, FSc result card or hope certificate, and domicile certificate — before final submission, since incomplete applications risk cancellation. Students have also been advised not to wait until the last day of the window in case of technical issues.
