"Mushroom Platforms: When MDCAT Becomes a Market:"
Mushroom Platforms: When MDCAT Becomes a Market:
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| Mushroom Platforms Are Causing Frustration Among Students |
A System Selling Hope, One Test at a Time
In recent years, the mushrooming of MDCAT mock test platforms have transformed a student’s journey into a full-blown marketplace. What used to be a simple tool for preparation has now evolved into a multi-layered business model, designed not just to assess students but to profit from their dreams.
Most mock test platforms charge Rs. 1200 per student for a single on-site test. The actual cost per candidate — including venue rent, invigilators, printing, and coordination — rarely exceeds Rs. 400. That leaves a clear margin of Rs. 800 profit per student. If just 200 students take the test, the total profit easily climbs to Rs. 160,000 — from a single session.
Now consider this: nearly every MDCAT aspirant gives 2 to 6 such tests. If a platform holds 3 mocks with 200 candidates each, it pockets over Rs. 500,000 — often earned in just a few weekends.
These ventures are not run by big academies or formal institutions. Most of them are launched by third-year MBBS students, who have relatively lighter academic loads and a good network of juniors. With basic resources, they set up temporary platforms that bloom rapidly during MDCAT season — then vanish away like springtime mushrooms.
The Online Test Economy: Small Cost, Giant Returns
Online test modules are even more profitable. Platforms often sell chapter-wise tests or full-length mock exams for Rs. 300 per module — for Class XI or XII syllabus. Yet the cost of hosting such tests is negligible.
Many use free tools like Google Forms, which cost absolutely nothing. Others use platforms like Testmoz, where each student’s cost is under Rs. 20 per test . Imagine 500 students participating:
- Revenue: Rs. 150,000
- Expenses: Rs. 10,000 (or even less)
- Profit: Rs. 140,000
Some platforms bundle test series — 10 to 15 tests for Rs. 300–500 per set — and easily attract 1000+ students, collecting Rs. 600,000 or more in revenue.
The ‘Free Test’ Illusion: Giving to Earn
Some platforms offer mock tests for free. But most do so not from pure goodwill — it’s a strategic move. These free platforms gather massive student traffic, which they later monetize through Google AdSense and other ad networks on their websites.
Free access doesn’t mean they’re not earning — it means the model has simply shifted. Students become ad viewers, data points, and email targets. In return for a few tests, their attention is sold to advertisers. This too, is business — just in another form.
As a seasoned teacher Sir Mumtaz Ali Panhwar once commented, “These MDCAT platforms sprout like mushrooms when the first rains of admission season fall.” They appear fast, grow faster, and disappear as soon as the season ends.
Mentorship or Monetization?
Here’s where the concern deepens. These platforms don’t just offer tests — they sell an illusion. A silent message spreads among students: “If you don’t buy these tests, you’re not preparing right.”
Thus, mock tests become a psychological necessity, not an academic one. Peer pressure ensures that even the most confident students second-guess themselves. If hundreds around them are buying into a test series, they fear missing out — not on marks, but on a chance.
Education, then, is no longer mentorship. It’s a marketplace. And students are no longer learners — they’re leads.
The Unheard Voices: Struggles of the Poor
In this game of numbers and networks, underprivileged students lose. With dreams no less sacred than anyone else’s, they often stretch beyond limits just to afford a single test — sometimes sacrificing meals, books, or peace of mind.
Their participation in test series becomes an act of desperation, not preparation. And for every 1000-rupee test they skip, there’s guilt. The system whispers, “You didn’t try hard enough.”
But they did. They just couldn’t pay the price of trying.
The Bigger Picture: A System Without Regulation
Multiply this scene nationwide. Suppose 50 such platforms run across Pakistan during MDCAT season, each holding 3–5 tests with 200 candidates each. We’re looking at a market of Rs. 40 million or more, circulating in weeks — mostly untracked, unregulated.
There is no body to certify the quality of questions, no check on fairness, and no criteria for pricing. Anyone with a laptop and a Social media group can now run a mock test “academy.”
Conclusion: Not a Critique, but a Call to Conscience
This article is not an attack on anyone. It’s a wake-up call. Education must not become exploitation. It’s fine to charge — but it’s not fine to charge without transparency, without heart, without ethics.
Let’s bring back mentorship in its truest form. Let’s create platforms that guide, not guilt. Let’s remember that behind every OMR sheet lies a dream — and no dream deserves to be commodified.
They sold the paper, not the preparation.
They printed the test, not the trust.
They counted profits, not pupils.
And in doing so, they forgot —
That MDCAT isn’t a market, it’s a mission.
Let us pause and ask: Are we preparing students for MDCAT? Or preparing MDCAT to profit off students?
DISCLAIMER: This article is the exclusive intellectual property of Sumair Ahmed Mahar, originally published on Maud Jaam Articles at (https://maudjaam.blogspot.com/) Reproduction, republication, or redistribution of this article by anyone else on any platform, including websites, newspapers, or other media, without the express permission of the author, is strictly prohibited.'
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