Peshawar - A two-member bench, consisting of Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Sahibzada Asad Ullah, heard a petition on Thursday from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa students aspiring to take the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT). The students are challenging the inclusion of out-of-syllabus questions in the MDCAT and requesting the awarding of grace marks.
During the hearing, the court issued notices to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and Khyber Medical University (KMU), Peshawar, requiring them to submit their responses.
Sher Hyder Khan, Advocate for the petitioners, argued that the MDCAT has faced multiple controversies in recent years, resulting in concerns over its fairness and transparency this year. He highlighted widespread protests across the country regarding irregularities in the test, asserting that several out-of-syllabus questions had been included, indicating mismanagement and inefficiency.
Khan noted that the petitioners, qualified and eligible candidates, attempted all questions but encountered issues with multiple interpretations, high difficulty levels, and confusing answer options. They filed complaints with KMU, requesting a review of the answer keys by independent subject experts, recommending grace marks for the disputed questions.
However, their requests were not addressed.
He cited a similar case where Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto University in Islamabad and University of Health Sciences Lahore awarded grace marks to their candidates based on expert recommendations and difficulty indices. Following the hearing, the court directed the PMDC and KMU, Peshawar, to provide their replies regarding the matter.