Administrators caught at least 21 students allegedly cheating during the Medical & Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) in Quetta, Balochistan on Sunday, sources said.

The test, organised by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, was held at the IT University in the provincial capital, along with similar tests across the country.

Hundreds of students appeared for the exam, which is necessary for admission to the medical universities, on Sunday (today). Section 144, which bans public gatherings, has been imposed in areas around testing centres and mobile signals have also been restricted.

The test administration reported that they caught the students in the act of cheating and transferred them to the security branch of IT University.

They requested the Airport Police Station to arrest the students. But police demanded a letter from the test administration detailing the cheating allegations before proceeding with any arrests, to formally register a first information report against the students.

Universities conducting the MDCAT arranged examination centres including Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University with 33, the University of Health Sciences 26, Khyber Medical University 13, and Dow University of Health Sciences six. A total of 167,744 students registered for the exam necessary for admission to the medical colleges.

The breakdown of candidate registered for exam in the provinces was as Punjab with 58,380 students, Sindh with 38,678, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 42,329, Balochistan with 5,806, Islamabad Capital Territory with 18,408, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 3,145, Gilgit-Baltistan with 739, and 259 international students.