LAHORE, May 2: The Punjab Health Department has suspended from service Punjab Medical Faculty ex-secretary Dr Firdous Shah and registrar Dr Zubair on charges of corruption in paramedics examination.

The examination scandal in the paramedics examination for December 2004 was brought to the limelight by the Punjab health minister and health secretary at a news conference.

The health department had detected that examiners had intentionally passed those candidates, who were actually fail, while they failed those, who were supposed to get high marks.

Following complaints, the health department had withheld the results of dispensers and sanitary inspectors and other disciplines’ examinations and got them re-evaluated from independent examiners. The results of the re-evaluation were shocking as most of the failed candidates were declared pass and those securing good marks were declared fail.

The initial assessment, which was never approved, showed that 3,546 candidates had appeared for the dispensers’ examination. Of whom 1,130 candidates were declared successful showing 32 per cent pass results. However, the re-evaluation changed the results scenario as only 668 candidates remained pass that included those, who were declared fail for allegedly not greasing the palms of the examiners or others involved. The pass percentage had reduced to 18.8.

Similarly, in the sanitary inspectors’ examination, the initial assessment showed that 325 candidates appeared out of whom 74 candidates were declared successful with a pass percentage of 22.77. However, after re-evaluation, the pass percentage came down to 8.9 as only 29 candidates qualified.

Later, the health department had constituted a high-powered committee to conduct an inquiry.

The inquiry committee presented its findings in a meeting chaired by health minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed here on Monday. Inquiry committee chairman Dr Anwaar Ahmad Bugvi and members Dr Yasmin Lodhi, Dr Muhammad Athar, health secretary Sohail Ahmad, PMF secretary Dr Tanvir Ahmad and faculty’s governing body members attended the meeting.

The meeting reviewed the inquiry committee report that ascertained corruption allegations against PMF officials. Consequently, the health minister issued suspension orders of PMF ex-secretary Dr Firdous Shah and registrar Dr Zubair.

The minister asserted that the corruption mafia in the PMF would be eliminated. He also directed the inquiry committee to submit a comprehensive inquiry report on the wrongdoings of examiners and other officials in the next meeting of the faculty’s governing body.

He also directed health department officials to initiate administrative and legal action against the officials found responsible for corruption in the examination.