UHS MDCAT syllabus 2020: Lahore court dismisses student's plea over PMC curriculum

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Sunday dismissed a student's petition pertaining to the UHS MDCAT syllabus 2020, pleading for the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) to conduct the Medical and Dental College Admission Test on the basis of the University of Health Sciences' (UHS) previously-issued syllabus.

Muhammad Haseeb, a student, had said in his petition to the LHC that the PMC had categorically stated in its October 7 notification that there would be no new or additional syllabus for 2020 MDCAT examinations.

Haseeb added that the PMC, however, issued a revised syllabus, which was new and different from that of the UHS and did not give any additional time to prepare for the November 15 exams.

The PMC's legal counsel apprised the court that the law mandated the commission to hold a single test nationwide for all medical and dental programmes in Pakistan.

The common syllabus and table of specification setting committee was formed and the Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) consulted for the MDCAT syllabus 2020, the counsel stated, arguing that there was nothing new in the syllabus but that it included all the topics common in the curriculum of all four provinces.

In her verdict, Justice Ayesha A Malik remarked that as per the PMC's "syllabus clarification", students will be given a form on the test day to record any objections they had to questions they believed were outside the syllabus.

The PMC, the judge observed, would then consider these objections and if any question was found to be outside the identified syllabus it would be removed from the scoring.

"No case of interference is made out. The instant petition is dismissed," Justice Malik concluded in the verdict.