Sindh cancels NTS entry tests for medical colleges

The Sindh Health Department has cancelled last month’s entry test conducted by the National Testing Service (NTS) for admissions in public medical colleges and universities, and announced that the test would be retaken within 15 days.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC) has cancelled the admissions of private medical colleges in violation of the council’s Centralised Induction Policy (CIP).

A notification issued on Saturday by Health Secretary Dr Fazlullah Pechuho read: “On the recommendations of the enquiry committee constituted by the health department, and with the approval of the competent authority, that is the Sindh chief minister, the entry test for admissions in public medical colleges and universities conducted by the NTS on October 22 is hereby cancelled.”

The notification also said the test would be conducted again within 15 days through the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), adding that the institution was advised to follow the standard operating procedures for conducting the entry test in letter and spirit.

The health department had formed an enquiry committee last month under the chairmanship of an additional secretary after many students claimed that the question paper of the entry test conducted by the NTS was available to many students prior to the test.

Moreover, even NTS officials had conceded before the enquiry committee that anomalies were found in the entry test conducted by them for admissions in public medical colleges and universities.

However, DUHS Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Saeed Quraishy said his university could not conduct the test on its own, stressing that a specialised agency or organisation with the capacity to hold such examinations should conduct the entry test.

“The government could advertise again for holding the entry test for admissions in medical colleges and universities because politically, it would not be wise to ask the NTS to conduct the entry test again after the earlier fiasco.”

In response to a question, he said that even the Higher Education Commission had offered to hold the entry test, adding that conducting the test of such magnitude was a cumbersome task and only agencies specialised in holding such exams could conduct such tests.

“It is hoped that the health secretary would hold a meeting of all the vice chancellors and principals of public medical colleges and universities on Monday to decide on conducting the entry test again.”

Replying to another query, Prof Quraishy said that despite being the largest public medical university in Pakistan, the DUHS did not have the capacity to conduct entry test for admissions because of large-scale logistics and other resources involved in holding such types of tests taken by more than 22,000 students.

PMDC decision

The PMDC announced on Saturday that the admissions in private medical colleges in the entire country stood cancelled, saying that after holding entry test for public medical colleges and universities, entry test for admissions in private institutions would be conducted under its CIP.

“Private medical colleges are not allowed to give admissions on their own, so all such admissions have been cancelled,” PMDC President Prof Shabir Ahmed Lehri told The News.

“If a private medical college violates this policy, its registration will be cancelled and its affiliating medical university will be asked not to take the exams of students of such colleges.”

He said private medical colleges had ensured the Supreme Court last year that from 2017 they would give admissions under the CIP, “but this year again they inducted students by extorting huge sums of money from the parents before the announcement of the NTS results, which is a violation of the country’s laws and regulations”.

“After admissions in public medical colleges and universities, entry test for private colleges would be held under the PMDC’s guidance; and those not following this policy would see their students and doctors barred from practising in Pakistan.”

Lehri claimed that private medical colleges not only increased their fee manifold this year, they also extorted “millions of rupees” from the parents of each student on the pretext of “donation”, “which is actually a form of extortion and will not be allowed in the country any more”.

“If private medical colleges are allowed to resort to such practices, from tomorrow every filling station owner would start selling petrol on their desired rates, and there would be complete anarchy in the country.”

The PMDC president said that there were regulations in the country, “and medical students should be inducted on the basis of merit, not the money their parents have in their pockets”.