KARACHI, Jan 30: The decision by the Sindh Medical College (SMC) to disown a number of its students, several of them with three to five years of academic career, has sparked anger and fear in the students and their parents.

The college principal suspects that during the past several years 62 admissions were made in violation of the admission rules, or bypassing the admission merit lists.

The principal, through a general notification dated January 23, has asked the students in question to submit to him the letters issued to them at the time of admission within seven days.

If they fail to satisfy the college authorities, the admissions of the students will be cancelled in line with the provisions of the admission rules. Subsequently they will not be able to appear for the annual examinations conducted by the University of Karachi.

“Having slumbered for years, they are out now to destroy the career of my son. It will shatter my hopes and nullify the academic achievements that my son made possible through years of serious study,” said an angry and embittered mother.

Another parent said that she could have got her son admitted to a private medical college, but the greed of the college staff had led to this monstrous problem.

“They gave me a call and said my son could be allowed admission to the SMC, provided I surrender the amount I had planned to spend under the self-finance scheme,” she said and added that she could identify the people who took Rs500,000 for the admission and were still working for the college.

Interviews with students, parents and senior teachers at the SMC gave one to understand that the students in question were provided uninterrupted education under a “peculiar deal”, while the SMC authorities and those at the helm of affairs in the health department and the University of Karachi kept mum about the fraud.

The students, despite not being on the admission list, were issued college cards, treated as bona fide students and enrolled and examined by the university. Fifteen of them were to appear for the MBBS final prof examinations this year.

The quarters concerned condemn the fraud, but add that it is too late to take such a harsh action, and had the college or the Governor’s Inspection Team (GIT) checked the affair at the very beginning, it would have saved the student years of hard work and the parents their hard earned money.

One student said that corruption was rampant in medical colleges, and if the inspection team really wanted to root out unscrupulous elements, it should scrutinize all the admissions to all the medical colleges since their inceptions, and ensure exemplary punishment to those found guilty.

In the meantime it was learnt that the health department was not informed of the development and the measures taken by the college. A source in the health department said the principal should have taken the department into confidence.

Principal of the college, Prof Akbar Hyder Soomro, told Dawn that the names of 62 candidates belonging to different MBBS batches were identified by a team of senior college teachers under the directives of the GIT, and the final decision would come from it.

He said that so far 22 students had responded to the document verification notice, but with insufficient or invalid or unsatisfactory evidences.

“The last date for replying to the notice is February 1, after which I will submit another report and recommendations to the GIT and the health department,” said the principal.