In a major judicial intervention aimed at safeguarding admission transparency, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed authorities to upload the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) question papers and their corresponding codes to the official website and maintain their public availability until the entire admission process is completed.
Justice Ahsan Raza Kazmi issued the order on Saturday while deciding petitions filed by Noshaab A. Khan and other candidates regarding the conduct of the medical entrance examination. The court observed that removing question papers from official online platforms creates serious hurdles for candidates seeking to file objections against answer keys, directly conflicting with established principles of transparency.
Summary of Key Directives and Deadlines
| Element | Details & Directives |
|---|---|
| Adjudicating Court | Lahore High Court (LHC) |
| Presiding Judge | Justice Ahsan Raza Kazmi |
| Petitioners | Noshaab A. Khan and other applicants |
| Mandatory Action | Publish MDCAT question papers and test codes on official portals |
| Retention Requirement | Must remain accessible until the admission process concludes |
| Provincial Inquiry Deadline | Sindh Government directed to complete inquiry and submit report within two weeks |
Procedural Protections for Candidates and Parents
For thousands of aspiring medical and dental students and their families across Pakistan, the ruling establishes vital procedural accountability. The MDCAT remains a compulsory prerequisite for admission into public and private medical colleges nationwide. When testing bodies prematurely pull question papers and official keys offline, students lose the evidentiary baseline necessary to cross-verify answers against their recorded response sheets.
By ensuring that papers and answer codes remain accessible throughout the admission lifecycle, the court protects the right of candidates to identify potential discrepancies and lodge formal, timely objections before provincial selection lists and institutional merit rolls are permanently finalized.
National Scrutiny and the Two-Week Sindh Inquiry
The High Court ruling coincides with heightened scrutiny over the integrity and credibility of the MDCAT examination framework. Public concern intensified following allegations of paper leaks circulating widely across social media networks, prompting lawmakers and civil society to demand greater operational oversight.
The controversy led the federal government to establish contact with the Sindh government regarding test complaints, calling for an independent and transparent inquiry into the examination. Simultaneously, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) formally wrote to Sindh’s health minister to request an official investigation into the matter. The provincial government has been instructed to complete this investigation and submit its findings within a strict two-week window.
Source: Originally reported by Pakistani Universities.
Source: ProPakistani