ISLAMABAD: While Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) has been facing criticism over the award of a contract to hold the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT), the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has directed it to provide all the details and documents related to the contract.

According to a NAB document available with Dawn, the bureau has been conducting a complaint verification regarding alleged corruption in the award of the MDCAT contract under the provision of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999.

“It is requested to nominate a focal person well conversant with the record and provide information/record,” a letter sent to the PMC president stated.

PMC has been directed to provide the advertisement issued for the contract, bid documents, details of firms shortlisted, evaluation of bids, particulars of qualified firm including experience certificates, complete details of payment/advances made to the aforementioned firm, contract documents and any other relevant documents, including applicable rules/regulations.

“The requisite information/record may be provided through nominated focal person to Ms Samina Rahman, Deputy Director Complaint Verification Cell, NAB Rawalpindi at the earliest,” the letter added.

The commission has been under fire after it awarded the contract for holding the computer-based MDCAT to a company which was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) after the expiry date for the submission of applications for the contract.

In July this year, Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) had suggested to the PMC president and the government to take notice of the alleged violations of Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules in the award of the contract.

A letter addressed to PMC President Dr Arshad Taqi, available with Dawn, stated that the commission had awarded the contract worth millions of rupees to a service providing firm incorporated in SECP after the advertisement date. The request for proposals was advertised by the PMC on May 4, 2021, from the service providing firms to hold a computer-based MCQ exam on an annual basis for about 175,000 students and the first exam was to be held in August 2021.

The PMC had demanded that the service provider must have installed/available a minimum of 2,500-3,000 laptop/portable computer terminals of specifications and standards capable of handling a computerised examination to be located at centres in at least 20 designated cities across Pakistan.

The advertisement stated that proposals may be submitted in seven days and not later than May 10, 2021.

The contract was awarded to M/S SOAR Testing and Evaluation Platform (SMC-PVT) after which the company requested the PMC to release an advance payment of over Rs115 million without deduction of the withholding tax (WHT) to adjust from its share, it stated.

The letter signed by TIP Vice Chairperson retired Justice Nasira Iqbal stated that according to PPRA rules 15 days had to be given to the companies but the PMC provided only seven days. Moreover, there were a number of other violations, it added.

According to the PMC Conduct of Examinations Regulations 2021, the syllabus for the MDCAT shall not be bound to any textbook or the HSSC boards and questions will be randomly selected from an examination question bank. No person shall have the right to object to the questions.

On the other hand, PMDC on Sept 27 issued a statement claiming that best possible technology and transparency was being used in the MDCAT exam. The commission has also a number of times denied chances of irregularities in the award of the contract and stated that the company to whom the contract was awarded is the most experienced and capable.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2021