Peshawar High Court stays MDCAT results
PESHAWAR
The Peshawar High Court on Friday stayed the announcement of results of the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) 2023 conducted by Educational Testing and Evaluation Agency (EATA).
Justice Syed Arshad Ali heard the petitions submitted by the Human Right Cell in his chamber. Earlier, parents and students have submitted petitions to Human Right Cell and demanded action against those involved in the use of unfair means in the MDCAT examination.
Chief Justice Peshawar High Court sent the petitions to the bench of Justice Syed Arshad Ali for hearing. The court also sought response from Chief Secretary KP, Executive Director of the EATA, Registrar of PMDC, and other quarters concerned.
The court adjourned the hearing till next hearing which will be held on September 21 and barred the council from uploading the MDCAT result on its official website till further order.
Meanwhile, Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs has set up a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to investigate allegations of unfair means in the MDCAT test in the province.
According to a notification, the Additional Inspector General (IG) Special Branch will be the chairperson of the committee.
JIT comprises Special Secretary Higher Education Department, Special Secretary Health Department, Additional Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs Department, representatives of Intelligence Bureau (IB), Khyber Medical University (KMU), and authorized chairperson to co-opted any other member in the committee.
“It is imperative that proper investigation is carried out into this matter and facts brought to fore with recommendations including institution of legal proceedings against the masterminds behind such incidents,” the notification said.
The officials of the EATA had busted a large number of students while using the Bluetooth-enabled pocket-sized devices connected to micro earpieces during the examination in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to details, more than 200 candidates were arrested from different examination centres established for the MDCAT. Following the arrest of students over use of devices during the examination, a large number of medical aspirants launched protests against the authorities and demanded the cancellation of the test taken for admission in public sector medical and dental colleges.
They also held protest demonstrations outside the PHC and demanded intervention of the apex court in the matter.
Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry had also taken notice of gadget confiscation during the exam and orders were issued to police and special branch officials for a transparent probe into the matter.
The entrance test for admission to public and private medical and dental colleges of KP was held in 43 halls in eleven cities across the province, and a total 46,612 candidates participated.
