The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa interim government on Saturday announced it would re-conduct the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) on November 26.
The test would be re-conducted in compliance with an order of the the Peshawar High Court (PHC) that was given on October 9.
A meeting chaired by caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan announced the decision.
The MDCAT conducted on September 10 was cancelled after dozens of students were arrested for cheating and using electronic devices during the paper from different examination centres across the country.
Following the claims of irregularities and paper leaks, over 80 candidates moved to the high court seeking cancellation of the paper.
Matters relating to preparations for conducting the MDCAT and other issues were discussed in the meeting. The huddle was told that 46,220 registered candidates would participate in the test.
In order to facilitate the students, examination centres will be set up in Peshawar, Mardan, Swat, Abbottabad, Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan), Kohat, and Lower Dir. The meeting decided to constitute a committee headed by the additional chief secretary to execute the plan.
According to government officials, the meeting also approved Khyber Medical University’s (KMU) action plan to ensure transparency in the MDCAT. It is pertinent to mention here that KMC will re-conduct the MDCAT in the province.
219 candidates involved in using unfair means during the previous test have been blacklisted, the official added.
Already registered candidates for MDCAT 2023 would not be charged a fee for the fresh test.
A total of 180,534 students across Pakistan appeared in the MDCAT 2023 exam held on September 10 earlier this month.
Dozens of students were arrested for reportedly cheating via Bluetooth devices during the MDCAT held at different national and foreign venues.
At least 10 aspirant doctors were arrested in DI Khan and 43 candidates were taken into custody in Peshawar on the charges of cheating during the test for medical and dental colleges.
Surprisingly, all of the detainees were using Bluetooth for alleged cheating in tests. DI Khan police sources claimed that VIP passes were issued to the candidates. A hefty amount was received from each of the students for getting their papers solved, they added.
It is pertinent to mention here that the caretaker Sindh government had already announced that the MDCAT 2023 would be held afresh on November 19 — after they were canceled for the same reason, “cheating”.
According to the Sindh Heath Department, MDCAT 2023 would be re-conducted through the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS).
