LAHORE: The Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) will be held on Sunday, September 20, with examination centres in 15 cities to be monitored through cameras from a central monitoring unit, while in Punjab’s public schools, newly admitted students are still waiting for their free textbooks weeks after the summer vacation ended.
A central monitoring unit is to be set up to provide access to cameras at the examination centres, officials said. The Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department has written to the Managing Director of the Punjab Safe Cities Authority in this regard.
MDCAT centres in 15 cities will be monitored through cameras, with centres set up in Lahore, Gujrat, Multan and Sahiwal, among other districts.
The Punjab Safe Cities Authority operates the province’s integrated camera network and command centres, which police already use for traffic enforcement and crime detection — as in the recent recovery of wanted vehicles through Safe City alerts. Linking exam halls to a central monitoring unit would allow officials to watch centres in real time rather than rely solely on invigilators.
The MDCAT is the gateway to admission in public and private medical and dental colleges, and tens of thousands of candidates compete for a limited number of seats. The test has been dogged in recent years by allegations of paper leaks and cheating in some provinces, prompting retests and court challenges and eroding candidates’ confidence. The Lahore Times earlier reported that the exam had been rescheduled to September 20 amid concerns over its conduct.
Candidates are advised to check their admit cards for centre details and reporting times and to follow instructions on permitted items, since stricter surveillance is likely to be accompanied by tighter enforcement of exam rules.
New Students Still Without Free Books
Meanwhile, students newly admitted to government schools after the summer holidays have yet to receive free textbooks.
According to sources, parents of newly enrolled children at several government schools are facing difficulties obtaining the free books. Parents say their children have been admitted, but their studies are suffering because books are not available.
After the delay came to light, the Programme Monitoring and Implementation Unit (PMIU) sought data on textbooks available in various warehouses. The School Education Department has directed that complete data on free textbooks held in all warehouses be provided within two days, so that books can be supplied on time according to schools’ needs.
According to the education department, surplus sets of free textbooks are available in different warehouses. The available stock will be pooled from various warehouses and supplied to government schools as required.
The department said the supply process was being accelerated so that newly admitted students receive free books at the start of the academic year and the enrolment drive is not affected.
The delay matters because the provincial government is pushing to bring more out-of-school children into classrooms, and missing books are among the first things that discourage low-income families from keeping children in school. School heads in Lahore have already faced PEEDA action over admissions, while the province recently released Rs37 billion for the School Education Department.
How quickly the surplus stock reaches classrooms after the two-day data deadline will be the immediate test of the department’s response.
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