12,846 chase 858 seats in MDCAT

Rumours of paper leak, mismanagement in parking, seating persist

KARACHI:

As many as 12,846 aspirants appeared in this year's MDCAT organised by the Pakistan Medical and Dental College in the metropolitan city on Sunday.

Of the 858 seats up for grab, 746 are open merit and 112 self-financed. At NED University, 6,000 candidates took the test, while 6,846 sat for the exam at the Ojha campus of Dow University.

Some candidates have raised concerns, alleging that the MDCAT paper was leaked on social media at 4am before the test began. However, Dow University claimed that the purported leaked paper was fake. Waris Jakhrani of Young Doctors Association (YDA), announced that an inquiry will be conducted into the leak paper that went viral on social media. If the allegation is established, a demand will be made to retake the MDCAT exam.

Disorder was observed outside the Ojha centre prior to the test. Despite management prohibiting parking, some parents parked their vehicles, disrupting traffic flow. However, traffic police were on site to maintain order, alongside police and Rangers personnel to prevent chaos.

While speaking to The Express Tribune, some parents expressed frustration that only two examination centres were set up for over 12,500 students, with one centre designated for both boys and girls. Candidates claimed that the Ojha centre lacked ventilation, forcing them to brave extreme heat during the test. After waiting outside for four hours, many found it difficult to concentrate.

One candidate alleged that the paper had gone viral on social media at 4am. While the biology section differed slightly, many questions in physics and chemistry were nearly identical to those in the leaked document, he told The Express Tribune.

A spokesperson for Dow University of Health Sciences denied the authenticity of the leaked paper, saying that it was impossible for the actual exam paper to have been leaked. Dr Waris of YDA, said that if the claims are substantiated, he would push for the integrity of the students' futures by demanding a retake of the test.

The test started at 10am and concluded at 1:30pm. The paper consisted of 200 questions: 68 from biology, 54 from chemistry, 54 from physics, and 18 from English. To ensure security, mobile phone and internet services were suspended within a 500-meter radius in Punjab and Peshawar during the test.

Leaked paper fake

Dow University of Health Sciences has said that the news about the alleged leaked paper is completely false and baseless.

The paper that went viral on social media is different from the MDCAT paper. The Dow University administration on Sunday stated that a few sheets containing various questions were labelled as "leaked paper" and recklessly spread on social media, which was entirely unfounded.