IHC halts PMDC from issuing MDCAT merit list

The hearing has been adjourned until October 28.

The Islamabad High Court has stopped the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) from issuing the final merit list.

Judge Arbab Muhammad Tahir, presiding over the case, granted the stay on the petitions filed by students. The court has also issued notices to the PMDC and other parties involved, requiring a response by October 28.

In their petition, students argued that 30 out of the 200 questions in the test were incorrect. They stated that admissions to medical colleges would be based on these results and requested a halt to further admission processes by the medical colleges.

Over 22,000 candidates sat for the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) exam on September 22, with many raising concerns about the exam’s difficulty, along with errors and inconsistencies.

In their petition, the candidates urged the court to declare the MDCAT invalid, unlawful, and in violation of PMDC regulations. They also requested that the authorities be ordered to conduct a fresh MDCAT exam without imposing any additional fees.

Previously, the Sindh High Court had halted the announcement of the MDCAT results and ordered a committee to gather records from all relevant institutions to prepare a detailed report.

Additionally, the court had instructed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to appoint a team to investigate the matter.

The court had compared the exam results of students from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh. It found that more students in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had scored over 190 marks, while some students in Sindh also achieved similar scores, leading to questions about potential exam paper leaks.