PESHAWAR: Several students, who sat the FSc examination for the second time to improve grades, have moved the Peshawar High Court against the deduction of marks to be counted for admission to government medical colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In a joint petition, Salman Azam and 13 other students requested the court to declare formula for the purpose illegal.

They also sought the court’s orders for awarding three per cent extra marks to them like those, whose FSc examination couldn’t be held due to Covid-19 pandemic and they were declared successful on the basis of their 11th grade performance.

The respondent in the petition are the federal government through the health secretary, Pakistan Medical Commission chairman, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, provincial health secretary, Khyber Medical University’s vice-chancellor, chairman of the Provincial Admission Committee, KMU board of directors, its registrar and director (admissions).

Candidates request court to declare KMU rule in this respect illegal

The petition filed through lawyer Abbas Khan Sangeen said the KMU had invited applications from candidates for admission to medical and dental colleges of KP through an advertisement on Dec 22.

The petitioners said while submitting admission forms, they were informed that according to the admission committee rules, 10 of the total marks obtained by the candidates would be deducted from all those candidates, who had improved their marks in FSc exam.

They said under those rules, the KMU was awarding three per cent marks to the candidates, who had appeared in the 2019 FSc examination and were declared successful and were awarded marks in 12th grade in 2020 as the intermediate examinations were not held due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The petitioners said that as they fell in the category of the ‘improved marks candidates’, they approached the KMU vice-chancellor and chairman of the Provincial Admission Committee with the request that the rule of deducting 10 marks be deleted, but to no avail.

They contended that the admission criteria/ marks adjustment in respect od improvers was highly discriminatory and unconstitutional.

The petitioners said that medical and dental colleges across the country were under the administrative and supervisory control of the Pakistan Medical Commission and under the rules, there must be uniform criteria for all educational institutions.

They, however, said the KMU had formulated its own formula of deducting 10 marks irrespective of the fact that all other institutions in Punjab and Sindh were following a uniform policy wherein all candidates whether fresh or improvers were treated alike.

The petitioners contended that due to Covid-19 pandemic, all students had been promoted without examination and that marks obtained in FSC Part-I (11th grade) with three per cent additional marks were awarded to students for FSc Part-II (12th grade).

They said that some of them had improved marks by appearing in the special FSc examination held during the Covid-19 pandemic period but the formula of three per cent grace marks was not extended to them.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2021