MDCAT Students in Quetta JAILED over PMC Errors?!

It is no secret that this year's MDCAT examinations have left aspirants nation-wide dumbfounded, agitated or entirely overwhelmed. PMC’s last minute syllabus additions, clashing test dates, multiple variants, along with incorrect and out-of-syllabus Sample Key Questions and Answers are just a few of many examples. Nearpeer’s very own Sir Ammar Ali Ayub took to Youtube with his absolutely free MDCAT Logical Reasoning Course to bring these discrepancies to light! Click here to check out the video. Below is a screen shot of just two of the many discrepancies in the Key sample. 

On Wednesday, students in Quetta arranged a sit in to protest the issues in the online PMC MDCAT test. The sit-in was held at the Quetta Press Club for aspirants for Bolan Medical College. These students appeared in PMC’s online MDCAT examination for their medical school admission.

The students were agitated, and appeared to have been concerned with the issues they faced during and before the MDCAT test, complaining of questions that were not a part of the official syllabus for the exam.

Thus,  to share their grievances, the students publicly took to Hali Road and the Balochistan Assembly. Law enforcement arrived swiftly and the protest turned violent. The students were attacked with batons by the law enforcement.

As a result, numerous students were injured whilst marching to the houses of the governor, Government offices and the Chief Minister.
    Decidedly, the students later demanded that action be taken against the violators, warranting the concern of Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove, Balochistan Home Minister, who ordered the release of arrestees. 

Quetta is not the only place impacted by PMC decisions and recent changes. Students across Pakistan took to social media to address their concerns with the Pakistan Medical Commission, making use of the hashtag #WeRejectPmcMdcatTest2021, now trending. Below, a student took to twitter to complain of the MDCAT 2021 TEPS platform, regarding it as "faulty", and stating sharing his reservations over the "unstable internet connection and an erroneous MDCAT key."

Jibran Nasir, prolific activist and lawyer also had some thoughts on the matter, urging students to take action as per necessary, instead of posting on online forums. In the image below, he addresses MDCAT students, asking them to take their matter to the high court in groups of 250-500 people instead of a petition pushed forward by a small number of individuals i.e 20 students. 

Online social platforms were not used solely for individual posting, but catalysed newer protesting accounts to be formed, garnering over tens of thousands of followers. As can be seen from below, a new account spurned from the aftermath of the PMC misdemeanors: the Doctors Wake-Up Movement (@DWMOfficial). This account focused on "fighting for the rights of MBBS/BDS Students, Doctors & for the dignity of the White Coat." The account became of interest to doctors and doctors-to-be across the nation, and received a following of over thousands of followers in the span of a few days. 

The MDCAT aspirants are posting heavily on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other mediums to raise their voices against the misdemeanors they felt PMC conducted.

 Nearpeer is playing their role by clarifying the confusions surrounding the Logical Reasoning section on our Youtube Channel. For the MDCAT aspirants, we care about your concerns. So, we are offering the entire Logical Reasoning course, taught by Sir Ammar Ali Ayub, free of cost on Youtube! Click here to check out the full course by Sir Ammar!

We at Nearpeer hope these students get the justice they wish for, and for education to be transparent, accessible and as well executed as it can be.