SC declares MDCAT mandatory for admissions to medical colleges

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Thursday maintained the Lahore High Court’s order and declared Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) mandatory for admissions to medical colleges.

A three-member bench comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar had reserved the judgment on September 27. The applicants sought permission to file an instant petition against the decision of the Lahore High Court dated 26.1.21, reason being that the said judgment has been adopted and followed by the Islamabad High Court.

The five-page judgment authored by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah stated that the admission to medical or dental programmes conducted by the public colleges should be regulated as per the policy of the provincial governments strictly on merit and admission to a private college should be in accordance with the criteria and requirements stipulated by the private college at least one year in advance of admissions including any additional entrance test as may be conducted by a private college subject to any conditions imposed by the relevant university to which such college is affiliated. The SC, however, ruled that under the regulations students applying for any medical or dental college were required to take MDCAT mandatory and the same applied to private medical colleges.

The court ruled that private colleges were not allowed to circumvent MDCAT with their home-developed tests as MDCAT is a legal requirement protected by the Pakistan Medical Commission Act, 2020. The court also quoted from the act: