LHC dismissed identical petitions challenging the provision of an entry test

LAHORE:16 November: A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC), on Tuesday, dismissed identical petitions challenging the provision of an entry test for admission in medical colleges of Punjab. The bench held that the merit list had already been prepared and it will cause irreparable damage to the students if the lists were cancelled at this time.

However, it also observed that the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and the University of Health Sciences (UHS) might review the present criteria for admission in medical tests. The bench comprising Justice Ch Shahid Saeed and Justice Malik Shahzad, after conclusion of arguments by both the parties on November 2, had reserved the verdict.

The petitioners included Muhammad Zubair, Maqsood Ahmed Qureshi, Shagufta Mubeen, Robina Iqbal, Javaid Iqbal and Muhammad Khurshid. The petitioners’ counsel, Muhammad Azhar Siddique, submitted that the only criterion for admission into medical colleges was now an entry test and the students’ two-year hard work in the Intermediate was not being considered as valid grounds for admission. He said that the UHS had introduced a new method this year, which gave 50 percent weightage to the entry test, 40 percent to FSc marks and 10 percent to matriculation marks. He submitted that 50 percent weightage was being given to the entry test (MCAT), which was a paper of two-and-half-hours based purely on objective questions rather than on subjective and practical questions. He said it was the constitutional responsibility of the state to provide equal facilities of education to every citizen.Daily Times.