ISLAMABAD: As many as 24,000 students, who appeared in the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) on September 22, have requested President Asif Ali Zardari and the Islamabad High Court to intervene after a third extension in the date of the retake test.

Students are panicked, particularly after the MDCAT retake exam in Sindh, as admissions will soon start across the country and a number of students who appeared in Islamabad intend to apply to Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan’s universities. They have urged President Zardari, who is the chancellor of the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU), to save their future and direct the university to retake the exam.

They have also appealed to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice to intervene and ensure implementation of the court decision.

It is worth mentioning that the SZABMU held the MDCAT on Sept 22 in Islamabad, AJK, and at two destinations out of the country, i.e., Saudi Arabia and UAE. However, because of a number of complaints, the IHC directed the university to retake the test.

University says retake will cause financial loss, willing to give ‘grace marks’

According to the university, the result will remain intact, but those who want to reappear in the MDCAT can submit applications. Initially, the university announced that the test would be held on November 24, but then it announced it would be held on December 14.

Eventually, Dec 22 was announced as the new date. But it had been conveyed that the test would not be held as the university had filed an appeal against the decision of the IHC.

Students have appealed to President Zardari that instead of supporting the students and ensuring fairness, SZABMU was jeopardising their future by entangling them in a prolonged legal battle.

“SZABMU has failed to comply with the honourable high court’s directive to reconduct the MDCAT 2024 examination. This blatant disregard for the court’s order continues to harm the educational prospects of thousands of students. Over 24,000 aspiring doctors are being treated as victims of administrative negligence, rather than being given the opportunity to achieve their dreams. The actions of SZABMU are causing irreparable damage…,” students stated.

“SZABMU violated the order of the court and submitted an intra-court appeal on November 11, 2024, against the decision of the IHC. Meanwhile, the date was extended two times: first on December 8 and then on December 14… SZABMU again extended the date [of the test] to be held on December 22, 2024. Students only want the exam to bereconducted as soon as possible to save their future and request the president of Pakistan to intervene immediately,” they stated.

Students have also sent a written appeal to IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq, claiming that students from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan, lower Punjab, and overseas who took the SZABMU MDCAT exam were suffering.

“We are compelled to raise our voices regarding the critical issues we have faced and to urgently request the reconduct of this exam. The MDCAT exam, held on September 22, was riddled with several significant issues, which included violation of PMDC guidelines and the doors to MBBS and BDS will remain closed for students for three years as there were easier tests in Punjab,” they alleged.

On the other hand, an official of the university, wishing not to be quoted, said that if MDCAT were to be reconducted, it would be a huge financial loss for the university.

“That is why we have filed an appeal in the IHC to allow us to give grace marks to students instead of holding the exam again,” he said.

However, a student, while talking to Dawn, said that they wanted the retake of the MDCAT instead of grace marks.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2024