UHS cancels MBBS paper

LAHORE:University of Health Sciences (UHS) has cancelled the paper of otorhinolaryngology (ENT) held on November 15 as a part of the ongoing MBBS forth professional annual examination.

The paper would re-conducted on Nov 27. According to a press release issued on Thursday by the UHS spokesperson, the paper had been rescinded on the recommendation of a three-member enquiry committee constituted by UHS Vice-Chancellor Prof Javed Akram to probe the anomaly pointed out by the candidates that university paper was the replica of a class-test paper of a private medical college held a couple of months back.

The committee headed by UHS Registrar Dr Asad Zaheer in its initial report has confirmed that both papers were identical except one question and has recommended re-conduct of the ENT paper to ensure fair play and transparency. It was observed that the similarity between the two question papers had “tainted the neutrality of the examination,” therefore, it should be re-conducted. The spokesperson said that the varsity regretted the inconvenience caused to the candidates. The cancellation of paper was imperative keeping in mind the paramount interest of students, he added. Meanwhile, the committee has requested one week’s extension in deadline to complete the enquiry.

anti-polio drive: Parents have been asked to get their children vaccinated in every campaign as intense virus circulation was going on in the country, including Punjab, which has the tendency to cripple the children.

The children who are left without taking oral polio vaccine in the immunisation campaigns are the ones who are most vulnerable to polio, said Salman Ghani, Punjab Polio Programme head.

He stated this during a meeting on Thursday. The meeting was attended by senior journalists and the polio eradication partners, including the representatives of WHO and Unicef. The journalists appreciated the government efforts to eradicate polio and assure the government officers that they were ready to provide every support in campaign against police.

The participants in the meeting inquired about the increasing incidence of polio cases in the country and frequent positive environmental samples. In response to a query about vaccines, Salman Ghani said that maintenance of cold chain was important to keep the vaccine safe. Salman Ghani said nearly 3 million children had been vaccinated in the recently concluded campaign. He said 1.91 million children were vaccinated in Lahore alone which showed public trust in the programme and vaccinations.

The Punjab polio chief urged the parents to get their children vaccinated in every campaign as intense virus circulation was going on in the country, including Punjab, which has the tendency to cripple the children. During the meeting, the programme representatives displayed polio cases reported from all over the country. As per data, Punjab reported five polio cases in 2019 and 81 polio cases were reported from the rest of the country, including Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

waste: Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) has issued challans of over Rs3.3 million since November 1 till date for illegal dumping and burning of waste in the provincial metropolis.

The action has been taken against people who are illegally dumping and burning garbage at public places and not abiding by company’s standard instructions.