The Islamabad High Court(IHC) has ruled in favor of petitions challenging the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT), ordering the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University(SZABMU) to conduct the exam again within one month.
The hearing was presided over by Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, during which the students who were impacted contended that the MDCAT paper contained queries that were not part of the prescribed syllabus. The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) issued a report that verified that some questions were indeed beyond the curriculum.
Advocate Qazi Adil, representing the affected students, highlighted that “30 questions on the exam were outside the syllabus,” pointing out a stark disparity in the exam’s results. In Islamabad, only three students scored above 190, while approximately 2,800 students from Punjab faced an uneven playing field.
Students expressed relief over the court’s decision, feeling that it spared them from potentially damaging academic consequences Adil also recommended that the experts should be involved in preparing future exam papers to ensure fairness and students a fair and better chance across institutions.
The Sindh High Court(SHC) has also ordered a re-conduct of the MDCAT in a related case, in response to a petition that alleged irregularities in the exam procedure. During the proceedings, the court stressed that students should not be subjected to undue stress and that “no games should be played” with their futures.
The petition was reviewed by a divisional bench, which was chaired by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and included Justice Amjad Ali Sahito. The committee responsible for investigating these irregularities was questioned.
Committee Chairperson Shireen Narejo presented a report, indicating that the responsibility primarily lay with the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and Dow University, rather than the testing agency. The court expressed frustration with the shifting of accountability, and said that while some universities had been responsible for overseeing the exam at various points. The committee noted some transgressions in the exam system, following observations that questions and answers were being shared on WhatsApp involving more than 40 personnel.
Justice Panhwar remarked that students should not be subjected to a “mental sword” hanging over their heads, voicing concerns about influential individuals allegedly manipulating the system. According to the PMDC’s counsel, the authority was investigating the matter to ascertain those like a suspected paper leak.
Justice Panhwar pointed out that the PMDC appeared to enforce its authority selectively, focusing only on certain institutions. Justice Sahito pointed out that the financial stakes could exceed Rs45 million. The court demanded a response from the Secretary of Universities within 30 minutes, urging the Sindh government to formulate an actionable plan to ensure a transparent and syllabus-aligned re-exam.
