KARACHI, March 22: The Sindh High Court asked a provincial attorney on Tuesday to apprise it on March 29 whether or not the failed medical college students admitted under the self-finance scheme were liable to pay Rs 150,000 to continue their studies.

The issue was raised by five students of the People?s Medical College, Nawabshah, who said they could not clear their mid-term professional exams and were now being asked by the authorities to pay Rs 150,000. They said they paid Rs 150,000 at the time of their admission under the self-finance scheme. The balance of Rs 600,000 was to be paid by them in various instalments before taking the final MBBS examination.

Appearing on behalf of the petitioners before a division bench, comprising Chief Saiyed Saeed Ashhad and Justice Maqbool Baqar, Advocate Mohammad Nawaz Shaikh submitted that there was no provision in the prospectus or the rules for redeposit of the entire admission fee by failed students. Other colleges in the province recovered only Rs 2050 for repetition of a professional course. The hefty amount being demanded from the petitioners was against the rules prevailing elsewhere in Pakistan.

The counsel said the practice was also not uniformly followed even by the Nawabshah College. One student of the college was refunded the amount on the intervention of a high-up. Furnishing details, he requested that the provincial health department be directed to specifically state whether the petitioners were discriminated against.