KARACHI: A team of senior officials of the Sindh Health Department has started scrutiny of papers of students of various nursing institutions to probe ‘irregularities’ in examination results on a massive level.
The supervisory committee consists of Special Secretary Aijaz Mahesar and Additional Secretaries Dr Jamaluddin Jalanai and Dr Aslam Pechhuho.
Last month, nursing students of various medical institutions went on a province-wide protest against the controller of the Sindh Nursing Examination Board for giving “unfair marks” and “demanding money from students to pass them in exams”. In Karachi, they also staged a protest at the Karachi Press Club and said that a large number of male and female nursing students were declared unsuccessful in the exams for refusing to pay money to the board officials.
Following the protest, the Health Department formed a 12-member committee, which consisted of representatives of the Sindh Nursing Examination Board and students. However, the committee failed to win the trust of protesting students, as they were of the view that representatives of the Sindh Nursing Examination Board were the same people who were involved in ‘irregularities’ in the examination results.
A meeting of the nursing students’ action committee was also held in Karachi on Wednesday. The action committee decided to wait until the outcome of senior officials’ probe.
“It is expected that supervisory committee would inform us about its finding in a day or two. We would decide our line of action accordingly,” Young Nurses Association (YNA) Sindh President Ejaz Ahmed Kaleri told Daily Times.
He said that nursing students were subjected to mental torture because of the results. “One of the student attempted suicide. He is in critical condition in Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre Karachi. If anything goes wrong, those involved in irregularities in examination would be held responsible,” he warned.
Published in Daily Times, September 7th 2017.
