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KARACHI: The interim government of Sindh has announced to re-conduct the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) 2023 on November 19, assuring that aspiring candidates would not be charged any fee.
“November 19 has been proposed to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council [PMDC] as the date for holding the paper afresh. The same date is suggested [to the PMDC] by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government,” he told a press conference here at the Karachi Press Club.
Recently, the caretaker chief minister had announced that the MDCAT held would be organized anew through the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS).
The decision was made in light of an inquiry committee’s report that revealed that the Sept. 10 paper, organized by Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU), was leaked four to five hours before the test began. Over 40,000 students had appeared in the entry test.
The health minister emphasised that the government would take strict action against the elements that leaked the paper even if it involved the vice chancellor of JSMU.
“Rest assured that no one will be spared as soon as we get a detailed report from the Federal Investigation Agency [FIA]. The agency is tasked to dig out specific actionable information, which currently we don’t have,” he claimed.
He pointed out that while the inquiry report submitted by a high-level committee did establish a paper leak, it was short of “precise information that could allow legal action against an individual or individuals”.
About JSMU’s role, he explained that since the university in question had conducted the controversial paper, the inquiry report had highlighted the lapses in its performance. “It’s on the recommendation of the same committee that the chief minister has asked the FIA to carry out a detailed investigation.”