ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) and the management of the College of Nursing at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) are at loggerheads over admission of 50 students to the nursing college.

The college administration has circulated the list of the 50 successful male and female students and issued them offer letters. However, the health ministry on Monday evening decided to cancel all the admissions though a notification about it could not be issued till late at night.

The College of Nursing offers admission to its four-year programme ever year. It recently held tests and interviews of the candidates and on Monday issued the final list of 50 successful candidates.

A senior doctor of Pims, wishing not to be quoted, said the college had finalised the list of successful candidates on merit. He said there was a board which held interviews of the candidates.

“However, the ministry put pressure on the college management to issue the list provided by it that contained favourite candidates of the ministry. After failing to get its candidates accommodated, the ministry now has informed us that it had decided to cancel the admission process and would circulate new criteria for completion of the admission process,” he said.

“The college held tests in which a number of students passed but it was decided to call only those for interviews who had secured more than 50 per cent marks in the written test. Then most suitable candidates were selected through the interviews and the list of 50 students was prepared and offer letters were issued to them. However, the ministry is trying to derail the admission process,” he said.

On the other hand, an official of the health ministry, requesting anonymity, said the principal of the nursing college had retired in April this year but she continued working and completed the process of admission. Till last week, she regularly visited the ministry and undated the officials concerned on the admission process.

However, an official of Pims said it was strange that the ministry had just come to know that the principal had retired in April.

“The ministry wanted to include names of its choice in the list, failing which it has decided to cancel the admissions,” he alleged.

Health ministry’s spokesperson Sajid Shah, while talking to Dawn, said there were a number of complaints about corruption and violation of transparency and merit.

“The management of the college held tests but kept 40pc marks for the interviews. We received complaints that those who ‘bribed’ the college management or approached it got good marks in interviews and those who should have been admitted on merit were dropped by giving them just a few marks in interviews,” he said.

“So ministry has decided to cancel the admission. The test had been held which is fine. We will introduce a new mechanism for interviews so that candidates would be admitted on merit,” Mr Shah said.

A doctor of Pims, requesting anonymity, said if the ministry was really sincere it should admit students on the basis of a test rather than holding an interview.

“Most of the candidates have narrow difference in tests but they will be dropped through interviews which carries 40pc weightage,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2023