MDCAT exams to be held on Dec 8 in Sindh

Ending the ambiguity surrounding the fresh Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT), the Sindh Health Department has announced that the exams will be conducted on December 8.

"[MDCAT] will take place on December 8 through Sukkur Institute of Business Administration (IBA)," said Sindh health minister’s spokesperson Meeran Yousuf.

The development comes as the Sindh High Court, in October, had ordered the retaking MDCAT following an inquiry committee's findings claiming that the entire MDCAT conducted by Dow University was compromised at all stages.

The order came on pleas against irregularities in and the paper leak of the MDCAT. The petitioners, who had taken the MDCAT, had challenged the validity of the test results on the grounds that they were tainted by the paper leak.

They also claimed that the MDCAT administration was complicit in facilitating access to some candidates by providing them with the paper.

In response, the SHC ordered the universities and boards secretary, the health secretary and the chief secretary to ensure that the assessment was conducted within four weeks.

Earlier this week, the provincial health department had given formal permission to the IBA Sukkur to retake the MDCAT of all candidates, including those in Karachi.

In a letter written by Deputy Secretary Health Department Zohaib Hasan Sheikh to IBA Sukkur Vice Chancellor Dr Asif Sheikh, it has been stated that in compliance with the directive passed by the Sindh High Court, the MDCAT will be re-conducted.

As per the spokesperson, as many as 38,609 students are expected to sit the exam.

Yousuf also said that three centres will be established in Karachi whereas one centre will be set up in Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Sukkur and Larkana each.