1,2000 students try out for 1,400 seats at medical colleges

Entrance exam to six colleges take place across the province.

KARACHI: Sunday was an important day for the future doctors of the province as at least 12,000 candidates competed for the 1,400 seats in six medical colleges of Sindh.

“There are too many people trying out and the seats are too few,” said a student from Sukkur. “Out of these few seats, some will be taken over by people with the right contacts. Merit is too small a consideration,” he added.

In Karachi, 4,195 young men and women gathered at the Dow University to take their entrance exam for the three colleges, Sindh Medical College, Dow Medical College and Dr Ishratul Ebad Dental College, in the city. They were all vying for just 760 seats, out of which 60 are for BDS or dentistry candidates while the rest are for the MBBS programme.

Across the province, the test was supervised by the National Testing Service (NTS). Results were to be up the same day on the website. The weather was too hot but most students were satisfied with the arrangements made. They were, however, concerned about their drive back home because of the tense law and order situation in the city.

Scheduled for 8 am, the test in Karachi started off just 10 minutes late. The small delay was attributed to the traffic because of the tense situation in the city due to the target killings and by-polls in Orangi Town, which were simultaneously taking place. The test ended at 1:10 pm as scheduled.

Candidates in Sukkur, however, were not as lucky. Sukkur Public School was the testing centre for several areas including Khairpur and Ghotki. The entrance test for Mahar Medical College (MMC) Sukkur and Chandka Medical College (CMC) in Larkana was held in the public school. More than 1,300 candidates were vying for the 100 seats in MMC. Much to the dismay of aspiring medical students, the number of seats has gone down from 200 seats last year. Meanwhile, 2,780 students from seven districts of the province tried out for the 202 seats in CMC.

Students were asked to come in at 8:30 am but the test started after 11:00 am. The long hours waiting in the heat did not bear well on the already nervous students. They complained of the long distances they had travelled to get to the test centre only to wait for hours before the actual test began.

As in Karachi, the majority of the applicants were females. The male students were not too happy about this and several spats took place at the school gate between nervous students and the school administration.

“We just don’t have enough seats and the girls always get too far ahead,” said a disgruntled young man at the centre.

Candidates from flood-hit areas were given special attention. Students who lost their papers in the flood were still allowed to sit the test. However, the students were cautioned that they must get their documents together for the second phase of admissions.

The entrance test comprises four sections - English, Physics, Biology and Chemistry. Invigilators were appointed to prevent copying and ensure fair testing.

MBBS and BDS candidates for the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) took their test at the university in Jamshoro. Around 4,200 young people, out of whom 2,852 were females, tried out for the 450 spots in LUMHS. Strict security arrangements had been taken, with 550 police and Rangers personnel appointed around the area.

According to the pro vice-chancellor of LUMHS, Professor Dr Naushad A Shaikh, the government policy on university admissions dictated that seats be reserved for students of different districts. “Admissions should be on the basis of merit but we are helpless in front of the government’s policy,” he said.

With additional input from Shahzad Tabani and Altaf Koti

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2010.