Future doctors: In a first, private school takes all 3 top pre-med slots

Three AKHSS students steal spotlight from boys, govt colleges.

KARACHI:

For the first time in the history of pre-medical examinations in the city, students from a single private institution took all three top positions, said the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) on Monday.

The Aga Khan Higher Secondary School’s (AKHSS) Samina Ismail Hirani came first by scoring 89.45% marks, followed by Kiran Amin (89.27%) and Kinza Murtaza (88.72%). There was more reason for the school to celebrate as two more of its students, Asna Ahmed and Syeda Fatima Muzaffer, made it to the board’s top-ten list of best performing students.

Principal Shahina Ali Raza told The Express Tribune that it was undoubtedly a great day for her as no other institution had ever swept all the top slots in a given year. “I believe that our students are coming forward because we try to instill leadership qualities in them [by encouraging them to join] different student organisations.”

In some consolation for boys as well as government colleges, Adeel Ahmed Khan of the Adamjee Government Science College came fourth with 88.45%.

At a ceremony organised to honour the top three students, BIEK chairman Prof. Anwar Ahmed Zai said that the three girls were chief guests. According to the results announced by the board’s controller of examination, Imran Khan Chishti, a total of 16,737 students sat the exam, of which nearly 81% were girls.

Two students of the PECHS Govt College for Women, which has been known as the flag bearer when it comes to producing the finest medical minds in the city, secured fifth and sixth positions. However, after digging through the statistics issued by the board, it surfaced that nearly 60% of the college’s 393 students who sat the premedical exams scored more than 80% and achieved the A-1 grade. In addition to that, the college is alone responsible for providing almost one-third, or 27.6% of A-1 grades scored by girl students.

Over half of the students of the Adamjee Government Science College achieved A-1 grades. The percentage of Adamjee students who scored A-1 and A grades came out at an astonishing 85%. On the other hand, 29% of AKHSS students managed to bag A-1 grades.

While comparing this year’s results with last year, Chishti said that the overall pass percentage slightly increased from 51% to 56%. Nearly six per cent of all students got through with A-1 grades, 14% with As, 16% with Bs, 14% with Cs and five per cent with D grades.

Growing gender gap

BIEK chairman Prof Ahmed Zai, however, raised concern over the widening gender disparity in pre-medical students, as more girls enroll into medical colleges and universities but don’t end up practicing. “I am compelled to say that the situation will pose serious issues for the country’s healthcare system after five years.” According to statistics issued by the Pakistan Medical Association, nearly 75% of female medicine students do not practice after graduating. Ahmed Zai announced that the students will be able to get their marks sheets in a week, so that they could apply to medical institutions from September 3. The BIEK is expected to announce results for the pre-engineering group on September 3.

DUHS is the top choice for many

Students who topped the premedical exams expressed their desire to pursue their medical studies at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS). Kiran Amin, who came second, said that she preferred DUHS as it “provided quality education at an affordable cost” and she would only join a private university if it offered financial assistance.

Samina Ismail Hirani, who came first, told The Express Tribune that both of her parents were doctors, and that she wanted to follow in their footsteps and ultimately specialise in oncology, the study of cancer.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2012.