KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued notices to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), the provincial health department and others on a petition seeking a stay order against the final merit list of the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT).

Around 25 students have petitioned the SHC, submitting that they appeared for the MDCAT 2025-26 at designated centres on October 26 and, as per the results, qualified for admission to medical and dental colleges on merit.

However, counsel for the petitioners, Nawaz Dahri, asserted that the PMDC’s attempt to reconsider the MDCAT 2024-25 results for admissions in 2025-26, without applying the score normalisation/equalisation formula, would create discrimination and injustice against candidates who appeared this year.

He also argued that the MDCAT held in 2024 had 200 multiple-choice questions (MCQs), whereas the test conducted in 2025 had only 180 MCQs, and therefore the assessment and evaluation lacked a valid basis for comparison.

Reconsideration of MDCAT 2024-2025 results for 2025-26 admissions termed discrimination

The counsel further contended that the number of students securing top scores dropped sharply in 2025, indicating that this year’s test was substantially more difficult than MDCAT 2024.

He maintained that the petitioners have serious apprehensions of losing the chance of admission to colleges, to be allotted as per their merit of this year, if the result of the MDCAT held last year was considered for admission without applying the normalising/equalising formula.

Citing the PMDC, provincial health secretary, universities and boards department, IBA Sukkur and others as respondents, the petitioners sought directives for them to ensure admissions are made on the basis of MDCAT 2025 merit.

They also pleaded that, in order to protect the rights of all aspirants, the principle of “three-year validity” of a result be made transparent, and further asked the SHC to issue an interim restraining order preventing the respondents from finalising the admission list until final adjudication of the petition.

After a preliminary hearing, a two-judge constitutional bench of the SHC, headed by Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhary, issued notices to the respondents for December 22.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2025