The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority has declared that the contract of the Pakistan Medical Commission with a private company, SAOR, for conducting MDCAT examinations, is a violation of its rules.
According to the details, PPRA issued eleven pages of its written decision on MDCAT exams and contract papers in which it was declared that fourteen companies applied for the contract. PMC awarded the contract to SAOR which was a violation of the law.
The deadline to award the contract was 5 May, however, SAOR was registered on 21 May. The students who appeared in the MDCAT examination suffered, as the computer systems stopped operating during the exam.
Consequently, the results of these students were affected due to the incompetence of the company.
Besides, PPRA said that that the fees that PMC collects from students are public funds, thus the medical commission must implement PPRA rules in its decision.
Thousands of medical students protested against MDCAT exams demanding a retake of the exam on a single day instead of a whole month, in a bid to ensure transparency and merit.
Source: Pro Pakistani