Students briefed on Sept 22 medical colleges entrance test

The entrance test for admissions into Punjab’s public and private sector medical and dental institutions will be held on September 22 in 12 cities of the province. Entrance test kits will be available at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) and other public sector medical colleges from August 20 while the last date for the submission of applications is August 30, UHS Vice-Chancellor Maj Gen (r) Prof Muhammad Aslam said at an orientation seminar on medical colleges admission tests at the Allama Iqbal Medical College. The 150-minute test will start at 9am, simultaneously, at Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Sahiwal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahim Yar Khan and Hassan Abdal. Candidates will be allowed to choose the city from where they wish to appear in the test. However, once allotted, the centre will not be subsequently changed. Aslam advised the candidates to reach their respective centres at least one hour before the commencement of the test, and with their admittance cards because nobody will be allowed to enter the venue and examination centre without a valid admittance card (issued by the UHS). All centres will be sealed at 8:15am after which nobody will be allowed to enter, he added. Candidates securing at least 60 percent marks in FSc (Pre-Medical) or equivalent examinations and having a domicile of any district of Punjab, Islamabad, and Gilgit-Baltistan are eligible to take the test. Those awaiting results should provide a hope certificate issued by the principal of their institutions, respectively, clearly stating that the candidate is expected to secure at least 60 percent marks in their FSc or equivalent examinations. Furthermore, Aslam said that there will be a single question paper consisting of 220 objective-type questions, further divided into four sections: Physics (44 questions), Chemistry (58 questions), English (30 questions) and Biology (88 questions). He said that the candidates will answer the test by filling the circles on their response forms, adding that only one circle must be filled for one question. He said that filling more than one circle for a single question will be considered a wrong answer and there will be negative marking in the test, adding that for each wrong answer one mark will be deducted from the total score. Each correct answer carries five marks, Aslam added. Aslam advised the candidates not to bring any calculator, cell phone or notes inside the examination hall.