KARACHI: Criminal cases against 38 students suggested: Medical college admissions
By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, Aug 31: A fact-finding committee on medical college admissions at the University of Karachi has suggested initiation of criminal proceedings against 38 persons who were not bona fide students of any medical college, but managed to appear in the professional examinations.
Sources on the campus said an inquiry committee, with dean of the faculty of science Dr Raunaq Raza Naqvi as its chief, on Saturday held threadbare discussions and reexamined the cases of about 57 students of two medical colleges in the city.
Earlier, the committee had viewed that the admissions of students in question were not genuine and there were certain discrepancies and foul plays on their part, which made them ineligible for admission to and examinations in medical colleges for the session 2000-2001.
The committee, however, cleared 19 cases of the Sindh Medical College and the Jinnah Medical College. The seat numbers of the candidates were deleted from the KU notification pertaining to MBBS first professional results at the eleventh hour about ten days back as the authorities could not make up their mind on how to deal with the disputed cases.
According to a source, after scrutiny of all the lists provided by the Sindh health department, the enrolment list of the KU and different medical colleges of session 2001, 38 extra names were found in one of the lists, which did not match with the official list of the government.
The committee declared that the 38 candidates who had also taken theory and practical examinations at the SMC were not bona fide students of any medical college.
While recommending for cancellation of forms and admit cards of these 38 candidates, the probe committee maintained that criminal proceedings should be initiated by the parent college, the government of Sindh and the University of Karachi against the students, added the source.
When asked why did the university committee not question the integrity of the college staff, the health department officials and the university staff whose connivance or negligence could not be ruled out, a KU administrative official viewed that the report of the committee would be sent to the Sindh governor, who, in his capacity as chief executive of the province, could constitute a high-powered committee to investigate the matter further, besides proposing actions against the culprits.
On a recent letter from the SMC authorities, the KU # committee had also recommended a thorough investigation into the matter of another eight students of session 2001, saying that their results be withheld and marks sheets, if issued, be also withdrawn until the final report of the investigation.
In the letter, dated Aug 28, the SMC principal had cited that in addition to cases already disputed by the university, he had observed that results of eight such students had been announced by the university who were not bona fide students of the college.
It was further learnt that the university authorities had decided that all the 57 students, whose cases of enrolment and admission as well as examinations were questioned initially and their results were also not declared without giving any obvious reason, should be allowed to know their results of first professional examinations.
The students should be given provisional results in order to enable them to submit their supplementary examination forms, if needed, the source said, mentioning that academic activities of the students should not be allowed to hamper till the time their cases were disposed of by another high power committee.
According to sources, the candidates, whose cases were cleared in the light of college principal’s certificate and claims and evidences submitted to the KU officials a week back, included foreign nationals as well.
Those who have been cleared by the first probe committee are: SMC - Ahmad Ali, Furqan Shoaib Siddiqui, Naveedur Rehman Siddiqui, Afshan Siddiqui, Alveena Javed, Hira Saleem, Kiran Ali Zahid, Sadia Naureen Mujaska, Syeda Asfia Mansoor, Saira Kiran Nawaz, Syeda Kiran Batool, Unaiza Khan, Mehwish M. Siddiqui, Khalid Mesbah A. Fateh and Feras Ahmed Mahmood.
Jinnah Medical College - Farah Ghori, Rabia Mahmood, Samana Ali Kazmi and Sana Sajjad.
Meanwhile, another enquiry committee, headed by Dr Javed Saghir Siddiqui, interviewed the staff and officer of the KU enrolment section on Saturday. The committee would soon call all the students, now numbering 61, to clarify their position, the sources said, adding that statment by the students would help expose the actual culprits who are believed to mint millions of rupees in the last few years.
