LAHORE, July 12: The University of Health Sciences has not yet decided about the award of 10 per cent marks for internal evaluation in the aggregate to the Lahore Medical and Dental College's MBBS final year students as it is being awarded to the students of other affiliated colleges.

Twenty two MBBS final year students of the LMDC had filed a petition with the Lahore High Court that they should be awarded 10 per cent marks for internal evaluation in the aggregate as the UHS awarded marks to the students of the other affiliated colleges. The students had taken their MBBS final year examinations in December last year.

A division bench in its decision on June 22 directed the UHS that the petitioners should be treated on a par with the other students and the matter be decided within 15 days of the receipt of order.

When contacted, UHS registrar Prof Dr Zafar Iqbal said the university was hearing LMDC students and had not yet reached a decision. He said the LMDC students were currently being governed under the Punjab University rules and it had no rule to award 10 per cent marks for internal evaluation.

The aggrieved students told Dawn that the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, in its session in April last year, had revised the weightage for internal evaluation marks for professional examinations.

The council had reduced the weightage of internal evaluation from 30 per cent to 10 per cent of the total marks allocated for the subject. It said evaluation had to be notified much before the final examination so that results were not influenced by this evaluation.

They said the UHS controller of examinations had also sent a letter to all affiliated medical colleges on June 2 that now the university would give 10 per cent internal evaluation marks to all MBBS students with immediate effect.

They also demanded that the UHS should also give 10 per cent internal evaluation marks in viva and theory instead of practical examination only.