ISLAMABAD: The Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) held on Sunday continued to garner controversy for purported mismanagement and cheating during the exam, with the Islamabad chapter of the Pakistan Medical Association urging `corrective measures` to accommodate students.

The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) said there was hitherto no proof of organised cheating in the exam, but they had been tipped off by security agencies about an `organised gang` that planned to facilitate cheating through gadgets.

It may be noted that in Quetta over 50 students had been arrested by the police as well as two other individuals for cheating during MDCAT, while similar gadgets were recovered from almost a dozen students in Islamabad.

In a statement on Monday, thePMDC said the information about the alleged gang had been provided three days before the test and they had taken strict measures to discourage cheating.

Dr Rizwan Taj, who heads the PMDC, claimed that the security agencies were on board and were cooperating to stop cheating, adding that the inquiry panel had not found proof of cheating but the investigation was going on.

`The PMDC president himself visited a number of centres to ensure that cheating gadgets would not be used and ensure transparency,` the statement claimed.

Dr Taj said candidates and their parents should ignore the rumours and information circulating on social media and also announced action against those involved in spreading fake news.

On the other hand, the PMA Islamabad demanded action over the concerns of students. `The PMA has taken serious notice of the alleged discrepancies and mis-takes in MDCAT held on Sunday and urged President PMDC Dr Rizwan Taj and SZABMU Vice Chancellor Dr Tariq Iqbal to take immediate and urgent corrective measures to address the concerns of candidates and rectify the discrepancies before the result is out to save the careers of students, the PMA said in a statement after the meeting.

The meeting was chaired by Prof Dr Akhtar Ali Bandeshah and attended by Dr Mian Abdul Rasheed, Dr Mohammad Ajmal, Dr Mubashar Daha, Dr Rana Javed, Dr Abid Shah, Dr Khurram Akram, Dr Abid Saeed, Dr Rana Abbas, and Dr Sartaj Ali Khan.

Former PMA secretary general Dr Qaiser Sajjad, while talking to Dawn, said it was unfortunate that the impression regarding MDCAT was that the test was not transparent. `Tests should have been arranged at proper places instead of institutions, as PMDC had charged Rs8,000 from each student and the [total] amount wasabout Rs1.5 billion,` Dr Sajjad said, adding that even water was not provided in Karachi `Female candidates were directed to remove gold jewellery and watches, due to which a number of them went back to their leave precious jewellery and could not reach the centres on time since the gates had been closed,` he said, adding that the students who handed over their valuables to the staff could not find them after the test.

Dr Sajjad said those who could not appear in the test should be given another chance and results be announced without any delay to avoid making the situation further complicated.

Meanwhile, students demanded that the question papers should be shared with the candidates, claiming a number of questions had wrong answers or more than one answer, so grace marks should be given. They also claimed that there were some discrepancies in the `key`.