• Over 38,000 sit for test held simultaneously in five cities across province
• Muttahida, YDA, IJT slam lack of arrangements for candidates, their parents at exam centres
• DUHS dismisses paper leak rumours

KARACHI/HYDERABAD/LARK­ANA: Amid allegations of paper leak and mismanagement in and outside the six exam centres set up across Sindh, thousands of students appeared in the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) held simultaneously in five cities across the province on Sunday.

The test was organised by the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) for the third consecutive year

According to the university officials, a total of 1,945 MBBS seats have been allocated for the province’s public sector universities including 1,691 for open merit and 254 for self-finance.

In Karachi, over 12,846 candidates had registered for the test for 858 seats; 746 allocated for open merit and 112 for self-finance.

A large number of students, as well as their parents, had to go through huge trouble when they arrived at two exam centres set up at NED University of Engineering and Technology and DUHS due to lack of measures to guide and facilitate candidates.

There were long queues outside the exam centres where no arrangements were made for candidates in sizzling weather conditions. Many of them had to wait for two to three hours to enter the centre.

What compounded the situation was a traffic mess outside the exam centres due to non-utilisation of designated parking spaces by many people and dilapidated condition of the University Road, where work on Red Line was underway.

In Hyderabad, a total of 12,659 candidates appeared in the test held in the Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences Jamshoro.

The huge rush of students and their vehicles caused a massive traffic jam on the overhead bridge, Hyderabad-Jamshoro Road, Indus Highway and roads leading to the LUMHS.

Parents were seen complaining about lack of arrangements for them outside the venue.

In Larkana, candidates gathered in front of the exam centre at the Police Training School and waited for hours before the administration opened gates.

Many candidates attempted to climb on the wall to enter the centre after reporting time was over. A girl student fell unconscious outside the centre due to rush and sweltering weather.

Many students claimed that they reached the venue on time but the administration denied entry to them.

Poor arrangements condemned

Reacting to the candidates’ sufferings on the exam day, student organisations, doctors’ bodies and political parties criticised the DUHS administration for mismanagement.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Sunday criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party government for “mismanagement” in the MDCAT and said that its health department put the future of thousands of students at risk.

In a statement, the MQM-P MPAs said: “In Lahore, there were eight centres but here in Karachi only two centres were set up. The students and their parents were humiliated.”

They said that the MQM-P stands by the students affected by the recently held test. The students, they said, must be heard for their grievances.

Young Doctors’ Association-Sindh (YDA) chairman Dr Mehboob Noorani said: “We condemn the mismanagement at the exam centres in Karachi as well as in Larkana where several students waiting in the queues were not allowed to enter the centre [after the gates were closed at 9:30am].”

Highlighting gaps in the administrative measures, Adil Ibrahim, a spokesperson of the Islami Jamiat Talaba, Karachi, said that the test centres lacked basic facilities, causing difficulties to students.

“Poor road conditions leading to the test centres caused traffic jams, making it difficult for students to arrive on time. Long queues wasted students’ time and candidates were not allowed to enter the test centres due to a mere 10-minute delay,” he said, adding that these issues could have been addressed.

‘Lack of cooperation from students, parents’

Responding to concerns, DUHS Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Nazli Hossain complained of lack of cooperation from students and their parents.

“Many of them didn’t follow the instructions given to them. Vehicles were parked far away from the designated area, causing inconvenience to others. A significant number of students arrived hardly 45 minutes before the exam time that created chaos but this situation was swiftly addressed by the administration,” she said.

She added that several students brought things that were not allowed inside the centres, which wasted time.

All concerned government departments had been taken on board and what happened outside the centres was not the responsibility of the university, she added.

Paper leak controversy

The YDA chairman Noorani also alleged that the MDCAT paper leaked at midnight and it had 70 to 80 per cent similarity with the actual paper.

“We demand that the health department take notice of the alleged paper leak and set up an inquiry committee,” he said, regretting that no action was taken against the officials who were nominated in the inquiry of the 2022 paper leak.

On behalf of the YDA, he said that it would hold protest and move courts if the government did not take any action against the alleged paper leak.

However, the DUHS Pro VC Hossain said: “It’s mere an attempt to malign the university. The paper that went viral on social media is different from the MDCAT paper.”

A DUHS spokesperson clarified that news about alleged paper leak was completely false and baseless.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2024