MDCAT case: PHC gives verdict regarding medical college admission tests

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has given its verdict in a case related to the medical college admission test – MDCAT – in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), ARY News reported on Monday.

The PHC upheld KP government’s decision to conduct the medical college admission test again in six weeks.

In its written verdict, the high court observed that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) exposed cheating during the Medical and Dental College admission tests (MDCAT) tests in KP.

In view of the JIT report, the KP government had decided to conduct the MDCAT test again. The high court stated in its verdict that the court would not interfere in the matter after the approval of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet.

While upholding the decision, the PHC ordered to conduct MDCAT tests in six weeks in accordance with the cabinet’s directives besides ensuring transparency.

In September, the Peshawar High Court had ‘withheld’ the release of the Medical and Dental College Admission Test – MDCAT – result.

According to the details, the students who appeared in the MDCAT filed a plea in the Peshawar High Court alleging the use of Bluetooth device for cheating purpose during the test.

The court had temporarily withheld to release the result of the MDCAT test and adjourned the hearing till the next hearing which will be held on September 21.

The court had sought responses from the key authorities, including the Chief Secretary, the Executive Director of the Educational Testing Agency (ETA), and the Registrar of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC).

In December 2021, the Supreme Court (SC) had declared the Medical and Dental Admission Test (MDCAT) mandatory for admissions to medical colleges across the country.

In a five-page judgment, Justice Shah had stated that the admission to medical or dental programmes conducted by public colleges should be regulated as per the policy of the provincial governments strictly on merit.

A three-member SC bench, comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, and Justice Munib Akhtar, had reserved the judgment on September 27, 2021.