Lahore High Court issues notice to PMC for MDCAT 2021

Lahore High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC). The court sought a reply on a written petition seeking cancellation of the ongoing Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT). The petition is filed against MDCAT for not being held on the same day in violation of the law.

The petition is filed by a student Hadiya Khalid. The lawyer of the petitioner contended that the petitioner appeared in MDCAT but had to face several issues during the test. He argued that under the mandatory provision of Section 18 (1) of the Pakistan Medical Commission Act, 2020(PMCA), MDCAT was to be held “on the same day” as “a single admissions test”. Previously the test was conducted on a single day in Punjab and in other provinces as well. But Pakistan Medical Commission PMC is conducting the test for a whole month giving undue advantage to some students. Many students are protesting against the irregularities of the test.

To substantiate his arguments, Agha cited a judgment of LHC in “Abwa Knowledge PVT case wherein the court ruled, “The authority shall conduct annually on a date approved by the council as per standards approved by the board a single admission test which shall be a mandatory requirement for all students seeking admission to the medical or dental undergraduate program.”

Many questions are “Out of syllabus questions”. Also, the out of syllabus questions is not evenly distributed. Some students have to answer 25-30 out of syllabus questions while some get only 5-10. He said previously when the MDCAT was conducted across the Punjab “on the same day” as “a single admissions test” the same question paper was given to all the students which eliminated chances of discrimination. The petitioner requested the court to cancel the MDCAT, reschedule and hold it on the same day as required by Section 18 of the PMCA2020.