LHC bars UHS from declaring medical entrance test result

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday barred University of Health Sciences (UHS) from releasing result of Medical & Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) after the question paper was leaked on social media ahead of exams. 

Wajihul Hassan, Ayesha bin Tariq and other students had approached the court through their counsel Fatima Malik. Justice Shahid Waheed issued the order on the petitions filed by the petitioners through their counsel. The counsel argued the petitioners appeared in the MDCAT held on August 20 for admission in MBBS. The UHS had conducted the test.

The petitioners pointed out that MDCAT’s question paper for 2017 was leaked on social media by a teacher at private college/academy in connivance with the authorities at UHS. The counsel argued that petitioners and thousands of other students would suffer irreparable loss if the leaked paper was not declared void and the UHS was not ordered to hold the MDCAT exam afresh. She said the teacher who leaked the paper also confessed, on his Facebook account, to have sold the paper to a number of students for Rs 50,000 each. She said the career of a large number of students had been put at risk by the criminals involved in leaking of the paper. The counsel requested the court to declare the exam void and order an inquiry into the paper-leak. After hearing preliminary arguments, the judge stayed announcement of the result and sought a reply from the UHS by September 13.