Lawyers brawl over entry test policy

LAHORE - A division bench of Lahore High Court on Tuesday rejected a request by University of Health Sciences (UHS) to vacate the stay against its Combined Merit List for admission to the medical colleges and deferred hearing by one day.
Lawyers of UHS, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council and the petitioner began brawling and quarrelling in the courtroom, disrupting the proceedings and annoying the court.
The court, warning the lawyers, observed “Should we close down the court if you want to decide the matter yourself?”
The bench comprising Justice Ch Shahid Saeed and Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, reprimanding the parties, suspended the proceedings for a while. However the lawyers apologised to the court for their rough attitude and said they would observe the court’s decorum.
Before the eruption of a storm in the courtroom, the bench asked PMDC counsel Ch Muhammad Umair why there was no check on private medical colleges which were charging fee in lacs. The court also asked if the son or daughter of a poor man could afford to study in these private colleges and that had the PMDC fixed some quota in the medical colleges for the poor?
The court also rejected the request of UHS Counsel Arsalan Husan Syed to vacate the stay order granted on previous hearing against implementation of UHS’s merit list observing that proceedings in the case were almost complete. The situation took a bad turn when the petitioner’s counsel Azhar Siddique told the court that UHS’ counsel was lying.
The UHS counsel had said an LHC bench in a judgment in 2010 had set a standard process for admissions which the university was following together with PMDC rules of the business. PMDC counsel told the court that the FSc system had some defects so the entry test system was used as a standard measure.
Azhar said UHS counsel was lying to the court as in 2010 question of the FSc pass marks came before court and the question of giving more weightage to entry test marks over FSc marks had been raised for the first time.
The bench directed the counsel for the petitioner to complete his arguments on Wednesday (today), when the judgment would also be announced.

PMDC tells LHC: Private colleges mere commercial concerns

LAHORE, Nov 1: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) on Tuesday told the Lahore High Court that all private medical colleges were doing business rather than serving the education sector.
The fact was stated by PMDC counsel in response to a two-judge bench query whether private medical colleges allocated admission quota for poor but talented students.
“Private colleges do not allocate such quota as they are totally business organisations,” the counsel, Chaudhry Muhammad Umar, said.
Justice Chaudhry Shahid Saeed put this question while hearing several petitions against entrance test made mandatory by the University of Health Sciences (UHS) for admission to medical colleges and changed criteria for the test.
The judge remarked that the government should make the private medical colleges to allocate quota for poor students as major part of country’s population was poor.
If there was no mechanism to govern private sector then double shifts should be introduced in public sector colleges to accommodate poor students, the judge suggested.
About the entrance test system, the PMDC counsel said uniform criteria was being implemented across the country since 2003 and an LHC single bench had also endorsed this system last year.
However, he said, the UHS initially refused to follow the council’s criteria but agreed to implement the same this year.
Justice Saeed observed that the private medical colleges had completed admission process and collected huge sums from students but what would be the future of these students if court gave decision against entrance test.
The judge again asked the counsel whether there was any mechanism to control private colleges. The counsel said the PMDC would take action if the court gave any directions.
Petitioner’s counsel Muhammad Azhar Siddique, at this juncture, pointed out that most of the students who appeared in entrance test were the ‘repeaters’ as a very small number of fresh intermediate candidates participated in the test.
He said the non-allocation of quota for poor students was a clear violation of article 25 and 25-A of the Constitution. He said the entrance test system discouraged poor students.
UHS counsel Rasaal Hasan Sayed argued in the court that private coaching for entrance tests could not be banned. He said actually the examination system for FSc was substandard and needed improvement.
The counsel also requested the court to withdraw stay order against Oct 20 merit list of UHS for admission to medical colleges but the judge turned down the plea.
The judge observed that the case would be decided on the next hearing.
The proceedings were adjourned for Wednesday (today) with instructions to the counsels representing both sides to come up with conclusive arguments.
The bench will also take up some petitions filed in favour of the entrance test system by students who passed the tests.
Petitions against the entrance test condition were filed by Muhammad Zubair, Maqsood Ahmed Qureshi, Dr Shagufta Mubeen, Ms Robina Iqbal, Javaid Iqbal, Muhammad Khurshid and Samra Sagheer.
The petitioners alleged that transparency was not being observed in entrance test and the PMDC also changed the test method altogether. They said under Section 33 of Pakistan Medical & Dental Council Act 1962 the council was duty bound to maintain uniformity of course in all medical colleges.
They said previously, while preparing the merit list, 30 per cent marks were allocated for entry test and 70 per cent for FSC exams. But PMDC changed it and now 50 per cent numbers were being given for entrance test result, 10 per cent for matriculation and 40 per cent for FSc.
They prayed to the court to issue directions to authorities concerned to prepare merit list as per the old criteria and ban the private institutions that were holding preparation classes for entrance tests. The petitioners also sought a ban on negative marking in the tests.

Private medical colleges minting money, PMDC tells court

LAHORE: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) on Tuesday conceded before the Lahore High Court that all private medical colleges were only minting money, instead of imparting quality education and serving the education sector.

The PMDC divulged this fact when a two-member bench put a query to its counsel whether private medical colleges allocated admission quota for the poor students or talented ones. Counsel Ch. Muhammad Umar replied that private colleges did not allocate such quota as they were totally business-oriented organizations.

A bench, headed by Justice Ch. Shahid Saeed, is hearing several petitions against mandatory condition of entrance test by the University of Health Sciences for admission to medical colleges and changed criteria for the test.

The judge remarked that the government should make the private medical colleges allocate quota for poor students as major part of the country’s population was poor. If there was no mechanism to govern private sector, double shifts should be introduced in public sector colleges to accommodate poor students, the judge observed.

About entrance test system, the PMDC counsel said uniform policy/criteria was being implemented across the country since year 2003 and a LHC single bench had also endorsed this system last year. However, he said, the UHS had initially refused to follow the council’s criteria but agreed to implement the same this year.

Justice Saeed observed that the private medical colleges had completed admission process and collected huge money from students but what the future of these students would be if court gave decision against the test.

When asked by the judge if there was any mechanism to control private colleges, the counsel said the PMDC would take action if the court gave any directions. Petitioner’s counsel Muhammad Azhar Siddique, at this juncture, pointed out that most of the students appearing in entrance test were the repeaters as a little number of fresh intermediates had participated in the test.

LHC refuses to vacate stay order on UHS merit list

LHC refuses to vacate stay order on UHS merit list

Staff Report

LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC), on Tuesday, turned down the request of the University of Health Sciences’ (USH) counsel seeking withdrawal of stay order on October 20 merit list of the UHS for admissions in medical colleges, adding that a complete decision on the petition will be made in the next hearing.

The bench said that it would hear further arguments on the petition challenging the provision of an entry test for admission in medical colleges of Punjab today (Wednesday).

The bench said that it would also take up other petitions in favour of the entrance test system filed by students who had passed the tests.

The counsel of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), on Tuesday, said that all the private medical colleges were only doing business and not serving the education sector.

He also said that a uniform policy/criteria for admission was being implemented across the country since the year 2003 and a LHC single bench had also endorsed the system last year. He informed that the UHS had initially refused to follow the council’s criteria but had agreed to implement it this year. To a court’s question as to whether the private medical colleges allocated admission quota for the poor yet bright students, the PMDC’s counsel said that the private colleges did not allocate any such quota since they were totally “business organisations”.

The bench observed that the government should force the private medical colleges to allocate quota for the students belonging to the underprivileged sector of society, adding that the majority of the country’s population came under the underprivileged sector.

The judge added that in case no mechanism was evolved to govern the private sector then double shifts should be introduced in public sector colleges to accommodate the poor students.

The bench also questioned how will a decision against the entry tests affect the future of those students who had applied in the private medical colleges, had been selected and deposited money. The counsel said that the PMDC would take action as soon as the court gave any directions.

Meanwhile, the UHS counsel said that the private teaching/training for entrance tests could not be banned. He said that the root of the problem was the substandard FSc examination system that needed improvement. The petitioner’s counsel, Muhammad Azhar Siddique, said that non-allocation of quota for poor students was in clear violation with the Article 25 and 25-A of the constitution.

The bench comprising Justice Ch Shahid Saeed and Justice Malik Shahzad made these observations while hearing petitions filed by Muhammad Zubair, Maqsood Ahmed Qureshi, Shagufta Mubeen, Robina Iqbal, Javaid Iqbal and Muhammad Khurshid.

The petitioners’ counsel said that the UHS had introduced a new method this year that gave 50 percent weightage to entry test, 40 percent to FSc numbers and 10 percent to matriculation marks.

He said that earlier, 70 percent weightage was given to FSc and 30 percent to the entry test. He submitted that 50 percent weightage was being given to the entry test (MCAT), which consisted of a paper of two-and-a-half-hours that had an objective approach rather than one that was more subjective or practical.

The counsel requested that directions be issued to concerned colleges and universities, asking them to wind up the criterion of entry test so that equal opportunities of education could be provided to the youth in accordance with the constitution.

PMDC , UHS CASE FOR MERIT LIST CERTITARIA

LAHORE:  The counsel for Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) will on Thursday (today) argue before a Lahore High Court division bench in defence of the entry test requirement for admission to medical colleges in the province.

The bench headed by Justice Shahid Saeed on Wednesday accepted for hearing a petition challenging the entry test requirement. Petitioners Muhammad Zubair, Maqsood Ahmed Qureshi, Dr Shagufta Mubeen, Ms Robina Iqbal, Javaid Iqbal, Muhammad Khurshid and Samra Sagheer submitted through their counsel Muhammad Azhar Siddique that ensuring equal opportunity for education was a constitutional responsibility of the government. They said the entry test requirement was discriminatory. They said thousands of deserving students could not get decent marks because they lacked resources to pay for private tuition for the test in addition to paying for high school. The test was depriving these students of a medical education.
Siddique said the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), another professional education institute, prepared its merit list by giving 70 per cent weight to applicants’ intermediate marks and 30 per cent to their entry test marks.
He said the University of Health Sciences had earlier followed the same ratio in determining its merit list, however, it had now increased the weight of entry test marks to 50 per cent and decreased that of intermediate marks to 40 per cent. Additionally matriculation marks were now given 10 per cent weight.
He said setting separate criteria for admissions for students for engineering and medical colleges was a violation of Articles 9, 18, 25 and 25-A of the Constitution.
Siddique said the new formula adopted by the UHS gave too much weight to applicants’ performance in a two and a half hour test.
He also questioned the transparency of marking system for the medical colleges’ entry tests. He said that UHS Vice Chancellor Malik Hussain Mubashir had been accused of relaxing rules for his son when he had to sit the test.
Siddique further alleged that the PMDC had not ensured the uniformity of curricula across medical colleges under Section 33 of the PMDC Rules of 1962.
He requested the court to issue a directive to the PMDC to abolish the entry test requirement and to ensure that all applicants had an equal opportunity to get admission in medical colleges.