LAHORE – Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah has said that intelligence officials and other authorities concerned will oversee the medical entry test (MDCAT), going to be held on Oct 29, after paper leak issue.
The entry test is being conducted for the second time in the same academic year after the Lahore High Court (LHC) declared results of the first test, held on August 20th, invalid due to leakage of paper.
Talking to a private news channel, the minister regretted the leak of papers despite the appointment of University of Health Sciences (UHS) Lahore on merit.
He warned that the persons responsible will be punished according to the law, adding that students and parent are equally responsible for the issue as they paid for it.
Talking about the culprits, Sanaullah said that several accused have been arrested, adding that two of them have fled abroad.
The test and third T20I between Sri Lanka and Pakistan are scheduled to hit Lahore on the same day, October 29.
But, the law minister said that the match will not affect the MDCAT test.
LHC Order
Following the case filed with the LHC regarding the leak of paper, Punjab Government submitted an investigation report to the court and claimed that some employees of University of Health Sciences (UHC) were found involved in the issue.
Later, the high court ordered that the test be re-conducted by barring the authorities from issuing the result of the paper taken earlier.
Meanwhile, the UHS has announced to re-hold the exam on October 29 without charging a fee from aspirants.
MDCAT Paper Leak
The news of the MDCAT paper leak spread like wildfire on social media after August 20 when some of the users shared pictures of the paper.
The allegation that the paper, which decides who would be becoming a doctor or dental surgeon, became mainstream when students moved Lahore High Court seeking an inquiry.
At that time, UHS Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Junaid Sarfraz Khan rubbished the rumors that the entry test paper had been leaked.
According to a UHS spokesman, it was just a hoax by a Facebook page named ‘Ya mbbs hai mamu’ that claimed the leakage of paper.
The UHS head also moved FIA to track the perpetrator who according to him had dented the credibility of the institute.
More than 65,000 candidates including 41,000 female students appeared for the Punjab Medical & Dental Colleges’ Admission Test (MDCAT).
The University of Health Sciences (UHS) had deputed around 5,500 invigilators and around 1,000 superintendents and deputy superintendents.
The test was held simultaneously at 28 centres established in 13 cities – Lahore, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Multan, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Sargodha, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sialkot, DG Khan and Hassan Abdal, The Nation reported.
This year, the candidates are competing for 3405 MBBS seats in 17 public sector medical colleges and 216 BDS seats in three public dental colleges of the province. Besides, there are 2590 MBBS seats available in 21 private medical colleges and 555 BDS seats in nine private dental colleges affiliated with the university.
