Admission to medical colleges: Court directs UoP, ETEA to prepare merit list in three days

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday directed the University of Peshawar, Educational Testing and Evaluation Agency (ETEA) and Khyber Medical University (KMU) to prepare merit list within three days and then make it public for admissions in medical colleges.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Abdul Shakoor also ordered that in future the entrance test for medical colleges in the province would be conducted by Khyber Medical University (KMU).

However, the court directed the University of Peshawar (UoP), ETEA and KMU to sit together and prepare the merit list in light of the result of the papers prepared by ETEA as well as the result of UoP cross-checking of the papers.

The court directed the respondents to make public the result immediately as five precious months of the medical colleges students have already been wasted in the province.

During previous hearing, the court had stayed admission process of the medical colleges of the province till the completion of cross-checking of the papers by professors of the UoP.

During hearing on Tuesday, the UoP counsel informed the court that the result of the papers have been compiled after cross-checking. However, he said the merit list would be prepared after comparing the result with the first merit list.

Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan observed that five precious months of the students of medical colleges have been wasted due to ETEA’s mismanagement and negligence.

KMU Vice-Chancellor Dr Arshad Javaid said that KMU would conduct entrance test for admissions in medical colleges from next year.

Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan told the Vice-Chancellor KMU that before entrance test precautionary measures should be taken concerning the weather and paper leaks as these were the reasons that the present test had been delayed for months.

Additional Advocate General Syed Sikandar Shah appeared for the provincial government and Waseemudin Khattak represented ETEA in the case.

The orders were passed in the writ petition of Arooj Kundi, who informed the court that at least six MCQs in the test have been wrongly adjudged by the ETEA as the answer given in the key were incorrect due to which she lost 20 marks.

The court asked Syed Sikandar Shah, additional advocate general, to explain the view of the KP government on the issue and the measures taken by it to provide justice to students.

He submitted that ETEA is an autonomous body and, therefore, the government doesn’t want to interfere in its affairs.

The bench remarked that injustice with the students is going on under the watchful eyes of chief minister and chief secretary even though the government should intervene in such a situation.