Exam trouble: Jubilation turns to distress

Medical students asked to reappear after passing the Anatomy exam.

ISLAMABAD:

A number of students from Mohi-ud-Din Islamic Medical College protested on Friday against the college administration and Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PNDC) for what they called their discriminatory attitude. The third year students have been asked to reappear in the ‘Anatomy’ exam, after they had cleared the test earlier.

They alleged that the PMDC had cancelled their exam after the result was announced on April 20 and asked them to reappear in the same paper on June 27. The students have also filed an appeal to the registrar Supreme Court on the issue.

Earlier, the exam for Anatomy, Professional MBBS P-11, was held on March 26. The paper was termed ‘imbalanced’ by the students at that, as they thought it only covered one section of the subject. Therefore, the students had requested the administration to cancel the exam but had been refused.

Despite this about 73 students managed to pass, with an overall score of 75.79 per cent, and only 22 failed. The exam had been conducted in the presence of a PMDC inspector who according to the vice principal had praised the student body in his report.

The primary issue was the “imbalanced” nature of the paper. Registrar PMDC Dr Ahmad Nadeem Akbar told The Express Tribune, “Until the paper is up to the standards set by PMDC, we will keep retaking it; this is the university’s responsibility to ensure that the required standards are met.”

College Vice Principal Brig. (retd) Liaqat was on the students’ side. He said, “We asked PMDC if they had contacted the examiner, who should be punished for making such an uneven question paper.”

The registrar when asked about this shifted the blame back on the university. He said that it was the university’s responsibility, since the exam was made internally.

The students are also angry on being informed so late in the day about PMDC’s decision about a fresh examination, “We are being told now, with just a couple of weeks to go before the exam,” said one student.

When the registrar was asked about the delay he said, “We had promptly informed the college of the executive council’s decision, just a few days after the exam was conducted, the delay was due to their stalling of the issue”.

When asked why the college administration did not inform the students immediately, Liaqat said, “We wanted to resolve the issue without disturbing them [students], as it was quite a shock for us too.” The vice principal added that the College Dean General Karamat and the Principal Prof. Umer Ali Khan had presented their case to the registrar PMDC for reconsidering the decision.

The executive council, summoned by PMDC had said, “Unless the university holds a fresh examination in the subject of Anatomy, action will be taken against the university under section 22 of the PM&DC Ordinance of 1962.

At the end of the day, the students seem to be getting the worse part of the bargain. They had to take an imbalanced exam which was made internally.

They had raised their concern on the examination day but it was to no avail. Due to the mismanagement and administrative inadequacies they have to sit for the exam again.

To make things more difficult, they were informed only a few days before the rescheduled examination.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18th, 2011.