December 16, 2001	Sunday	Ramazan 30, 1422

KARACHI, Dec 15: The Sindh government on Saturday revoked the decision of the health department of making 5,500 students seeking admission to the government-run medical colleges in the province take third entrance test.

The students heaved a sigh of relief as a high-level meeting, which was presided over by Acting Sindh Governor Saiyed Saeed Ashhad at Governor House, decided not to declare the results of the second entrance tests null and void.

The meeting was convened under the directives of the Sindh governor following forceful protests by the students and their parents over the Dec 13 decision of the health department of making 5,500 students take another entrance test as the Institute of Business Administration, which had conducted the tests, had detected at least 34 cases of irregularities.

The news that there would be no more entrance tests sent a wave of joy among the hundreds of students who were waiting for the outcome of the meeting with bated breath in front of Governor House. Earlier, they had staged a demonstration in front of the Dow Medical College at 9am. From there, they made for Governor House where they staged a sit-in.

Official sources said the Saturday meeting had decided to uphold the results and the merit-list of the last entrance test on condition that all answer scripts would be checked again by a committee. The merit lists of the candidates would be revised in the light of findings of the committee.

They added that the committee would comprise representatives from the Governor Inspection Team, the IBA and the principals and other officials concerned from the medical colleges and universities in the province.

The committee had been assigned to scrutinize about 5,500 answer scripts within a week, they said.

The meeting was also attended by Sindh health minister Ahsan Ahmad, Sindh chief secretary Mohammad Javed Ashraf Hussain, Governor Inspection Team chairman A.R. Nasir, Principal Secretary to Governor Akhtar Zamin, Adviser to Governor on Education Abdul Wahab Shaikh and Health Secretary Khalid Latif Chaudhry.

A senior official of the Sindh government, who did not want to be identified, said that the health department decision of giving another entrance test had put the government in a very awkward position.

He said: “The detection of irregularities in the entrance tests conducted by the IBA — and that too twice — caused irreparable damage to the prestige and credibility of the institution.”

A Sindh health department press release said that all those candidates found guilty of getting the answer sheets and results tampered with would not only stand disqualified for admissions but their cases would also be sent to the health department, the Governor Inspection Team and the police station with which the IBA had lodged an FIR so that all those involved in the scam could be included in the investigation.

Talking to Dawn, the health minister clarified that the rechecking of the scripts was not for any new marking but only to determine the exact cases of irregularities. He said that the final merit lists for admissions on open district merit seats would be released as soon as the newly-formed committee finished its work.

Answering another question, he said that the health department would not engage the IBA any more for entrance tests. He said that some more cases of irregularities might be detected.

The statement issued by the Sindh health department on Saturday said the government of Sindh had adopted this liberal approach keeping in view the difficulties of the candidates and those of their parents.

It was hoped that this liberal approach would be viewed in the right perspective and it would discourage those elements that want to use the difficulties of the candidates for their own political mileage, the statement added.

The statement said the rechecking exercise would continue during Eid holidays and would be completed within a week’s time.

It added that after the publication of the December 13 statement a number of candidates and their parents had approached the Sindh health department and had also informed the department that a number of candidates had gone to their home towns to celebrate Eid.