• JAC warns of protest outside Dow University if govt doesn’t order probe in two days
• Students seek CM’s intervention
• DUHS says it is answerable to PMDC only, claims it was satisfied with entire process

KARACHI: A controversy over the alleged paper leak of the recent Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) in Sindh refused to die down as a joint action committee (JAC) —formed to pressurise the government to order a paper leak probe — claimed on Tuesday that it had evidence to prove that the paper was leaked thrice on social media before the start of the exam and a total of 184 questions, out of 200, in these papers were exactly the same that came in the test.

Over 38,000 candidates had on Sept 22 appeared in MDCAT, organised by the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), in five cities of Sindh. Hours after the test, the Young Doctors Association (YDA) had alleged that the MDCAT paper was leaked before the start of the exam and demanded an investigation.

Also on Tuesday, a group of students staged a protest demonstration outside the DUHS and called upon the Sindh chief minister to take notice of their plight.

JAC warning

The JAC comprising representatives of the Pakistan Medical Association-Sindh, Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (Pima), Young Doctors Association (YDA) and Faran Club held a press conference on Tuesday to demand a fair and impartial probe into paper leak allegations.

It warned that if the health department did not announce an investigation into the alleged paper leak within two days, they would start protest outside the DUHS.

“We won’t let it go [paper leak issue] this time. We demand that the authorities re-conduct the paper,” said YDA-Sindh head Dr Farrukh Rauf.

He said that the association had evidence to prove that the paper was leaked thrice on the social media within 24 hours of the examination’s start.

Dr Rauf said a total of 184 questions, out of 200, in the leaked papers were exactly the same that came in the official MDCAT paper.

He regretted that students would not have suffered this time, if the authorities had taken action on allegations of paper leak.

He also questioned how several candidates based in Tharparkar and Kashmore received 100 per cent or above 95pc marks in the paper.

“Furthermore, we have received information that the exam was also held at a private farmhouse in Hyderabad for candidates who paid Rs1.5 million to Rs1.6m,” he alleged.

On behalf of the association, he urged the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to handover the responsibility to hold MDCAT in Sindh to Aga Khan University, National University for Medical Sciences or Institute of Business Administration.

“It can even hold the test online. Why technology isn’t being utilised to bring transparency in the system,” he asked.

In his remarks, Dr Umer Sultan, also representing YDA, warned that the association might take the protest to hospitals, if the government did not hold an inquiry into the alleged paper leak.

Endorsing their demand, Dr Peer Manzoor, Dr Mohammad Siddique and Advocate Mohammad Hanif Samma shared their deep concern over the deteriorated status of education in Sindh where, they alleged, all kinds of academic degrees were on sale.

They called upon the Sindh government to bring about educational reforms and make all academic decisions on merit.

A number of intermediate students, who appeared in the MDCAT on Sunday, converged outside the DUHS to stage a protest over mismanagement and paper leak allegations. The protest was organised by the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) Karachi.

“We demand that the chief minister take notice of students’ grievances. An investigation should be held into the recurring MDCAT issues and action must be taken against paper leak network and centres,” the students’ body stated.

DUHS response

When contacted on Tuesday, a DUHS spokesperson said: “The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, which had assigned the responsibility for conducting the test to the university, has expressed satisfaction over the whole process.”

“The university has already shared its stance on the matter and is only answerable to the council,” the spokesperson added.

On Sunday, the DUHS had rejected the rumours of paper leak as ‘completely false and baseless’, terming it “an attempt to malign the university”.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2024