Sindh approaches President Alvi for change in MBBS entry test date

Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho has requested the president of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, to intervene and get the date of the entry test for admissions in MBBS and BDS programmes at medical universities and colleges in Sindh changed from 8th Muharram to some other day.

She told a news conference in the committee room of the Sindh Assembly that her request to change the date of the entry test was turned down for no reason by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and Special Assistant to PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza.

“The date of the entry test for admissions in MBBS and BDS in Sindh has been set as 8th September and probably it would be 8th of Muharram. It would be very inconvenient for students as mobile phones would not be working on that day. Shia students would also be unable to appear in the test, so I requested the PMDC chairman, PM’s Assistant Dr Zafar Mirza, but they refused to accept our request,” she said.

The health minister said that on her request, President Arif Alvi said there was no issue in changing the date of the entry test. However, she said that as she had not received any confirmation in this regard, she would like to appeal to the president again through media to look into the matter and resolve it at the earliest so that students could appear in the entry test with peace of mind.

She also criticised the PMDC for tightening the eligibility criteria and increasing the percentage from 60 to 70 percent for appearance in the entry test for admissions in medical colleges, saying that this would deprive many students of the opportunity to appear in the entry test who had prepared themselves for having 60 percent marks in the intermediate examinations.

Pechuho stated that the increase in the eligibility percentage could have been carried out gradually instead of doing it suddenly. When asked about the outbreaks of deadly infectious diseases in Karachi, especially deaths due to Congo Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) and Naegleria folweri infection, she shifted the blame on the livestock department for not spraying animals with insecticides on their arrival in the city on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board for its failure to provide chlorinated water. She advised the people to take precautionary measures themselves to protect themselves against these diseases.

She, however, conceded that the Karachi director health should have checked the swimming pools and other places for the chlorination of water. She urged the people to put chlorine tablets in the water tanks to protect themselves from the deadly infection caused by the Naegleria fowleri.

When her attention was drawn towards issues in Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Trauma Centre, she said the problems at the trauma centre started after the retirement of its incharge, but they had given the charge of the trauma centre to an official till the appointment of a permanent executive director, who should be a good administrator instead of a surgeon, for the institution.

The minister said she had replaced the coordinator of EOC Sindh with a better official and they were now awaiting a new communication strategy from the Centre to end the community resistance and fatigue of the parents in getting their children vaccinated against polio.

Responding to another query, she said the restructuring of the health department and the setup was underway in Sindh where vertical programmes would be integrated while they would be brought under the control of the director general health as regular departments so as to enhance their performance and ensure better results.