Loud protests new way to score free marks?
Lahore: You could hear the roar rising over the sound of passing traffic as they made their way down The Mall. It was a faint and distant noise at first, but as the horde drew closer, their well-coordinated chants began to make sense. All around, in shops and offices along the city's main business district, eyes turned to see what the commotion was.
This was nothing new for the traders and shopkeepers in the area. Protests, demonstrations and rallies on this section of the city's main thoroughfare have become a routine thing. But on this particular Tuesday, the cries were more full-throated than usual and the protesters' strides had a greater sense of purpose. But this particular group was not campaigning against load shedding, protesting the US role in Afghanistan or demanding the arrest of a certain group of land grabbers, not at all. In fact, this particular bunch, who would otherwise look much more at home on the campus of any of the city's many medical colleges, were asking for something much more fundamental, something they felt far more entitled to: grace marks.
According to these 'loud and proud revolutionaries', the University of Health Science (UHS) had made "gross errors" in marking their MBBS First Prof Part Two Supplementary exams 2009. "There has to be a mistake, after all, I studied my b*** off and I still failed." Coming up with a novel excuse for not scoring enough marks, the UHS students alleged the new examination staff hired by the varsity was not qualified enough to grade exam papers "who were solely to blame for their academic failure".
Around 100 students from different medical colleges affiliated with the UHS gathered at The Mall in front of the WAPDA House and marched towards the Governor's House, shouting slogans against the UHS vice chancellor (VC). The students belonged to the Allama Iqbal Medical College Lahore, the Punjab Medical College Faisalabad, the Nishtar Medical College Multan, the Quaid-e-Azam Medical College Bahawalpur, the CMH Medical College, the Lahore Medical and Dental College and the FMH College of Medicine and Dentistry. The students incredulously demanded the university give them grace marks and promote them to the next class. They said they would launch a citywide protest against the 'great injustice' done to them, as the UHS VC was not listening to their "just" demands.
Separately, in a press release issued in connection with the protest, the UHS stated that out of a total of 589 candidates who appeared for the MBBS First Prof Part II Supplementary examination held in February, 417 students passed while 165 failed, the pass percentage being 71.65. In the MBBS Second Prof Party Supplementary Examination, also held in February, a total of 585 candidates appeared out of which 461 passed and 121 failed with the pass percentage being 79.21. The pass percentage of the annual results of the two examinations was 77.47 and 74.17 percent respectively. This showed, the press release stated, that there is hardly any difference in the pass percentage of the annual and supplementary examinations. The UHS went on to deny the never-before-heard-of allegation that the exam result was prepared by untrained staff. The administration said UHS Controller of Examinations Dr Junaid Sarfraz Khan is a highly qualified and competent professional, a trained medical educationist, appointed by the Punjab governor.
The university also strongly refuted allegations that some students had been given a pass grade after rechecking their answer papers in the past. The university has always advocated high moral principles and therefore, would never submit to any unjustified and unlawful demand. Daily times
