Authorities have arrested the mastermind of the Medical & Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) scandal in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan, along with his brother. The scandal came to light after officials from the Higher Education Commission in KP uncovered a cheating scheme that involved the use of cutting-edge technology. During the MDCAT exam, authorities apprehended dozens of students attempting to cheat using covert Bluetooth devices.
The suspect, identified as Zafar Mahmood, was reportedly leading the network from KP’s Karak district and had been assisting aspiring students in cheating on previous MDCAT tests. The network charged aspirants between Rs2 million to Rs3.5 million for providing tools and assistance to cheat in the examination.
The cheating scheme involved disguising Bluetooth devices as pens or cards and included earplugs for communication with individuals outside the exam hall. The devices were available for around Rs35,000 in Pakistan and had a charging port allowing them to operate for up to eight hours.
Widespread criticism has arisen due to the scandal, and the Peshawar High Court has prohibited medical colleges from uploading the results of the recent MDCAT until they receive the findings of a joint investigation team. There were petitions in the high court seeking to cancel the medical test exam and its conduct by an agency other than the Educational Testing and Evaluation Authority (ETEA).
