Delays: Medical classes to start a month late

The six institutions had to conclude the admission process by the end of October to meet the academic calendar

KARACHI:

The academic session for new entrants at six public-sector medical universities and colleges in the province will be delayed by a month due to the administrative failure in announcing the merit list of applicants, who sat the entrance test for admissions on October 19.

The six institutions had to conclude the admission process by the end of October in order to meet the academic calendar, requiring them to commence the session on November 1. What had created a sense of unease among  16,700 applicants was the failure of administrative officials to provide a definite timetable and reasons for delay.

Officials at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) and Jinnah Sindh Medical University in Karachi had no definitive reply when the applicants approached them. “The officials say they cannot provide us an exact date for the announcement of merit list,” said an applicant, Muhammad Hassan. “We know that medical education is really tough where each month counts in order to cover the syllabus. We will have to bear the brunt of this one month delay during the rest of our freshman year.”

The applicants for admissions to Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences in Jamshoro, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University in Larkana, Peoples University of Medical and Health Sciences in Nawabshah and Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College in Sukkur faced a similar situation.

Meanwhile, the DUHS spokesperson said that the provisional merit list will be announced in a week.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2014.