The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued a notice to Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PM&DC) on a petition against sudden change in the medical and dental colleges admission test (MDCAT) registration and admission policy.
Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, during the hearing of the case, directed the lawyer of petitioner medical students, Raja Rizwan Abbasi, to submit written submissions.
During the hearing, the court remarked that this matter is basically of a provincial nature because after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, most of the powers related to educational matters have been transferred to the provinces.
The court said during the hearing that “this is a provincial matter, but now there is talk of bringing it to the Federation. Each province can formulate its own policy, Sindh or any other province may have a different stance. There are also problems with the registration of colleges, which cannot be ignored.”
Lawyer Raja Rizwan Abbasi told the court that due to the new policy, students who passed the exam last year are facing difficulties because the registration procedure and powers have been suddenly changed. He was of the view that it is against the rules to transfer the authority of PMDC to colleges, while PMDC itself should take decisions related to exams and registration.
The court asked the lawyer to tell what violation has occurred so that an order can be issued accordingly. Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir said that if the matter is clear under the law, the court will not hesitate to issue an appropriate order.
Lawyer Rizwan Abbasi took the view that the matter is clear under Section 47 and PMDC should be directed to adopt a uniform policy in all provinces so that students do not face difficulties.
Later, when the hearing resumed after a short break, the court issued a notice to the PMDC officials and summoned them on Friday, however, the court rejected the petitioner’s request for an immediate injunction.
The lawyer had taken the position that the last date for registration was today, however, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir said that “we have issued notices and will take a response from PMDC on Friday.