IBA Karachi unable to conduct fresh MDCAT due to ‘lack of expertise and capacity’

A new crisis has arisen in Sindh about the new Medical and Dental College Admissions Test ordered by the Sindh High Court, as the IBA Karachi has refused to conduct the test due to limited resources and lack of expertise, while the IBA Sukkur has fully agreed to do the task.

IBA Karachi Acting Executive Director Dr Shakeel Ahmed Khoja has said the IBA Karachi has been restrained by its Board of Governors and the leadership from offering and or engaging in testing services where it lacks “expertise” and/or the “capacity” to function as a testing agency for third-party institutions.

This position is reflected in the minutes of the Board of Governors meeting dated 18.05.2002, which determined that the IBA Karachi would not act as a testing agency unless due expertise and capacity are acquired. Additionally, it is important to note that the Sukkur IBA University operates as an independent entity governed by its own legislation, i.e., the Sukkur IBA University Act, 2017, whereas the 1994 Act governs IBA Karachi. Therefore, the fresh MDCAT being conducted in two zones, the Karachi Division and the rest of Sindh, could result in inconsistencies. Variations in testing quality, control, and marking ratios may differ from test to test and from one testing agency to another.

The IBA Karachi has recommended that an exercise of this scale be delegated to one party, and since the Sukkur IBA has volunteered for this task, it should be assigned to the Sukkur IBA. It has said we are committed to providing any necessary logistical support to facilitate the successful completion of this task, contingent upon obtaining approval from the competent authority.

According to sources, in the presence of Health Secretary Rehan Baloch, a meeting of senior officers of the IBA Karachi and IBA Sukkur was held in Karachi, in which the IBA Karachi showed its inability to take the test; however, Secretary Rehan Baloch did not convince the IBA Karachi to conduct the test despite orders of the Sindh High Court and the meeting ended without a result.

Conducting the test in medical and dental colleges in the country was started by the IBA Karachi under its director Dr Abdul Wahab, which ran successfully for many years. In 2002, Board of Directors in its meeting decided not to conduct medical and dental tests. It should also be remembered that the Sindh High Court declared the MDCAT conducted under the Dow Medical University on September 22 null and void and ordered two testing institutes to conduct a new test. Orders were issued to conduct the test at the IBA Karachi for Karachi and the IBA Sukkur for the interior of Sindh.