Medical mess

Updated on: Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Kolkata: The West Bengal University of Health Sciences has landed in a muddle over the merit list for MS and MD seats.

The initial list left out hundreds who had got through much tougher national exams. The WBUHS office was flooded with angry calls. Within four hours, a new list was put up, with the names of virtually everyone who had complained.

The February 13 flip-flop has opened a can of worms. While the authorities blamed software error, some senior teachers suspect foul play and have lodged a complaint with WBUHS and sought a judicial inquiry.

The way WBUHS released a fresh merit list in just four hours has also been questioned. While the original list had 1,700 names (out of 4,800 candidates), the revised one has 2,200. Most of those who had originally been left out figure high up on the new list. A number of candidates who made it to the top 30, including a few in the top 10, were not even among the initial 1,700, say sources. Around 750 candidates are likely to be selected.

“Young doctors who took the test have been left anguished by the whole episode. They don’t know if the shortlisting was fair and whether the rest of the selection will be done in a fair way either. It is unfortunate that something as important as the national entrance for MD and MS courses was conducted in such an unprofessional manner. We suspect it was done at the behest of vested interests that are at work in the university,” alleged Rezaul Karim, working president of the Nationalistic Doctors’ Forum and a teacher at the Institute of Post-graduate Medical Education and Research.

Answer sheets are tabulated on software by an independent agency. Varsity officials said the error happened because the answers were tallied with the wrong set of question papers.

“It is purely a technical error. The entire exam system is transparent and this isn’t the first time answer sheets were marked using a particular software. But I own responsibility and am ready for an inquiry. We will make sure nothing goes wrong from here on and everything is scrutinised repeatedly,” said WBUHS vice-chancellor P K Deb.

Medical mess

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