Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) to re-conduct the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) 2024. The decision comes after widespread complaints from students and parents regarding alleged misconduct and out-of-syllabus questions.
This marks the second time the court has ordered a re-conduct of the SZABMU MDCAT this year. Thousands of aspiring medical and dental students appeared for the MDCAT on September 22, 2024, across Pakistan. Following the exam, numerous petitions were filed against SZABMU, leading the IHC to intervene and mandate a fresh test.
Key Details of the IHC Order
- Test Re-Conduct Timeline: The court has instructed SZABMU to hold the re-exam within two weeks, with December 29, 2024, or January 5, 2025, proposed as potential dates.
- Registration Fee: Candidates registered for the previous exam will need to pay a fee of PKR 4,000 for the re-conduct.
- Test Difficulty Level: The new test’s difficulty will match that of the University of Health Sciences (UHS) MDCAT, as per insider sources.
The court’s decision aims to address the long-standing concerns of medical and dental aspirants, ensuring fairness in the admission process. This re-conduct highlights the importance of transparency and standardization in national-level exams.
The author is MBBS student and Founder of Students Nexus by SMY, an online educational and counseling platform.
