PESHAWAR: Around 40,000 students are passing through constant stress owing to frequent cancellation of the entrance test for admission to public and private medical and dental colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The students have been engaged in extensive study since January 2018 after concluding their academic session for the intermediate examinations and consequent entrance tests.

Psychiatrist Iftikhar Hussain told Dawn that students were visiting his clinic with severe phobic anxiety associated with forthcoming examination. “The students are in panicky state. They have stopped eating and some of them complain about nausea and vomiting. They also complain about loss of memory,” he added.

Dr Iftikhar said that other problems of the students included loss of concentration and forgetfulness. He said that the students hit by cancellation of entrance test remained obsessed with failure in the examinations too.

Psychiatrist says students with severe phobic anxiety visit his clinic

“After the intermediate examinations held in May, we started preparation for the entrance test for admission to medical colleges,” a student, who has been going through mental stress for the last nine months, told Dawn.

He said that the first entrance test was scheduled on July 15 but it was postponed on the same day due to heavy rain in some areas. He said that the students were expecting relief from their constant stress and tension after July 15 but postponement of the test lingered on their nervousness.

The student said that then August 19 was announced as next date for the test. “We spent another month while remaining engaged for 17 to 18 hours in study. But even the arrival of August 19 didn’t release our stress as the test was cancelled over paper leak,” he said. The next date for the entrance test is September 23.

“I have been living in the hostel for the last nine months to make preparation of the entry test,” Arshed Khan, another student, told Dawn. He said that he lived in a private hostel near the Board Bazaar because the environment at home was not fit for study.

Mr Khan said that he spent the hot summer in the hostel amid hours’ long power outages. He came down hard on the administration of Khyber Medical University and Education Testing and Evaluation Agency, blaming both for failure to maintain secrecy and arrange indoor test due to which the test was cancelled twice and caused constant stress to around 40, 000 students and their parents.

According to Dr Iftikhar, educational examinations, especially entrance test meant for higher professional education, have always been stressful for students.

“In such situation, very comfortable and conducing environment is needed to relax students and lessen their anxiety level. But when the examination environment is uncomfortable, especially when the examination is cancelled repeatedly, then it will definitely heighten the anxiety level,” he said.

Dr Iftikhar said that sleep and appetite of students would be affected adversely. They will get muscular tension, headache, irritability and lack of concentration, he said, adding it affected the performance of students.

“It is a serious matter and the government and institutions concerned must take all measures to avoid incidences of cancellation of entrance tests,” he said.

“I am worried about my son as he has stopped attending family gatherings and remained focused on studies,” Ikramullah, a resident of Ring Road, told Dawn. He demanded of the government to make the examination system and admission to the professional colleges easier.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2018