KMU conducts MDCAT for medical colleges’ admissions

PESHAWAR: The Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) was conducted under the supervision of Khyber Medical University (KMU) for admissions to medical and dental colleges of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Meanwhile, the law-enforcement agencies arrested eight people from Karak, a day earlier of the MDCAT, who were allegedly part of a gang and had procured sophisticated equipment for cheating.

“We had received information about their activities for using modern equipment in cheating. Members of the law-enforcement agencies took them into custody after raids,” a senior government official told The News.

He said they were being investigated for illegal activities by procuring modern gadgets to be used in cheating in the MDCAT.Also, they were accused of paper leaks prior to examination.

The police had last year made similar arrests from Karak and declared them members of a gang involved in selling modern devices to parents and students at high prices which were used in cheating.

The government had constituted an inquiry committee when devices were recovered from the students in the examination centres but nothing happened as some of the students were children of senior government and police officials.

There were no incidents of major irregularities in the test, except complaints about mismanagement in some centres.In Mardan, the applicants and their parents complained that unlike the past, the entrance was conducted in a private college owned by a PTI MPA from Mardan.

In the past, MDCAT used to be conducted at the Abdul Wali Khan University. “The college building was small for such a major activity, lacking space and facilities,” Farhad Khan, father of a female student complained.

Meanwhile, the test was held in seven cities across the province at 13 centres with a total of 42,329 students participating. Of them, 3000 students were supposed to be selected for the medical and dental colleges.

The MDCAT, held for admissions to all public and private medical and dental colleges in the province, was conducted across seven cities: Peshawar, Abbottabad, Kohat, Chakdara, Mardan, Swat, and Dera Ismail Khan.

In total, 42,329 students, including 23,339 boys and 18,990 girls, appeared in the test.The test took place at six centres in Peshawar including Islamia Collegiate School, Pakistan Forest Institute, University College for Boys, University Public School, CECOS University Industrial Estate, and Government Higher Secondary School No. 1, Peshawar city, where 19,415 students appeared.

Other centers included Kabal Cricket Ground and Iqra International University Odigram in Swat (5,834 students), Mardan (5,328 students), Lower Dir (2,528 students), Kohat (2,062 students), Dera Ismail Khan (2,670 students), and Abbottabad (4,492 students).

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Secretary Adeel Shah, Peshawar Commissioner Riaz Mehsud, and Director General Health Dr Muhammad Saleem Khan, along with FIA, IB, and police officials, accompanied KMU Vice-Chancellor Dr Ziaul Haq and Registrar Inamullah Wazir during visits to all exam centres in Peshawar and the KMU control centre.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Ziaul Haq said holding the test in a transparent manner was a major challenge.He acknowledged the security arrangements made by the Home Department, police, traffic police, and intelligence agencies, including FIA, IB, and the Special Branch.

No untoward incidents were reported from any centre. Walk-through gates, metal detectors, mobile jammers and thorough body searches were conducted at the entry points of the centres, while bomb disposal squads and security agencies played a crucial role in ensuring the success of the test.The final results will be announced within 72 hours and will be available on KMU’s official website.