KOLKATA: A senior faculty member overseeing academic affairs at Burdwan Medical College (BMC) sent a message to a senior medical education official at Swasthya Bhawan, expressing his anguish over a section of students demanding to be allowed to cheat in an examination.
A junior doctor, whose name surfaced several times during the RG Kar protest, with allegations of promoting a culture of threats and unfair practices during examinations, allegedly called a few faculty members of BMC and asked them to allow some students to carry mobile phones inside the examination hall. Upon being declined, he allegedly threatened them with being transferred.
The MBBS final-year examinations, conducted by the West Bengal University of Health Sciences, is sched-uled for March 3 in all med-ical colleges.
“Such is the audacity of this junior doctor who was suspended by the health department, that a few months later, he starts threatening faculty members so that some of his disciples are allowed to cheat in the examination,” said a faculty member of the medical college.
The senior faculty member overseeing academic affairs wrote to the Swasthya Bhawan senior official, saying that he even tried talking to the students, coaxing them to study as their examinations were approaching. However, they reportedly refused and openly stated that they should be allowed to cheat. The senior faculty member expressed his concern about how these students would become quality doctors in the future.
A section of medical students had kept the college principal gheraoed until late into the night on Tuesday, demanding that the seven students who were rusticated from the hostel during the RG Kar protest for promoting a culture of threats on campus be allowed back. While the number of final-year MBBS students was only about a dozen, the group reportedly involved paramedical students to create trouble. They are known to be close to the suspended junior doctor, whose unauthorised presence in the examination hall at North Bengal Medical College last year created a massive controversy.
The RG Kar incident exposed a mess in medical education, including irregularities like cheating and allowing cellphones to some students inside the examination hall. A few students were allegedly also given honour marks, a deviation from their academic performances in their classes.
“After the RG Kar incident, the health department took strong action against unfair means during examinations. The recent examinations, including those for postgraduates, were conducted very ethically, with strict vigilance by invigilators. But a handful of students are trying hard to bring back unfair means,” said a junior doctor at BMC.
Sources in the health department said that complaints of a few students using unfair means during examinations had emerged particularly from BMC and North Bengal Medical College. The department is taking all steps to ensure that this is not repeated.
“At least one among the seven rusticated from the hostel had garnered honours in some subjects in previous examinations. Now, if the examinations are held in a fair manner, I doubt if the students will be able to clear the final examination. That is why they are trying to create trouble on campus. But the current administration is very strict and fair, and we hope it stays this way,” said a junior doctor at BMC.
(Inputs from Mohammad Asif in Burdwan)