The Tamil Nadu authorities has requested Dr M G R Medical University in Chennai to conduct an “impartial probe” into the alleged “unauthorised collection” of no less than Rs 22 lakh from final-year MBBS college students of a prestigious authorities medical school within the identify of conducting sensible exams.
The transfer got here after the University submitted a report on “unwarranted and unethical practices of collecting money” at Stanley Medical College “to show gratefulness to the departments” and “to arrange accommodation and food” for exterior examiners. The University has additionally suspended a number of inner examiners of the faculty from its official examination panel.
“We have now asked the University to conduct an impartial inquiry. We cannot compromise on examination malpractices. We will get to the root of this issue. We will see if it was an isolated incident or a common practice. We will send out a strong message, and the people behind this will not be spared,” TN Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan advised The Indian Express.
Several college students of the faculty advised The Indian Express that the cash was “collected ahead of the exams with a veiled threat that there is a chance that we may fail if we don’t pay”.
They mentioned they obtained a message on a WhatsApp group for final-year college students, days forward of the exams from April 29-May 8, to pay a “minimum of Rs 10,000” every. There are about 250 final-year MBBS college students within the school and no less than 220 are believed to have paid up, sources mentioned.
“Guys, most of us know that some amount is being collected for final year practicals every year. The same will be followed this year. A minimum amount of Rs 10000 will be collected. This is being collected for the wellness of us. Do send it to your respective batch reps within 25th of March by means of online transaction your rep has. Instructions for the payment will be given by your batch representatives,” mentioned the message posted by a scholar.
“All of us sent the money through Google Pay to the class representatives who were aware of this fund collection from the beginning,” a final-year scholar advised The Indian Express.
When contacted, Dr P Balaji, the faculty dean, mentioned he had no function within the “illegal cash collection”. “I was not aware of this,” he mentioned.
However, Dr Sudha Seshayyan, Vice Chancellor, Dr M G R Medical University, advised The Indian Express that the University obtained a grievance from “a student who failed in the practical exam allegedly for not paying the amount”.
“The dean received the complaint and he forwarded it to me. There was an inquiry conducted with the complainant as well as the internal and external examiners. The complainant was in tears when the inquiry was held online. But the inquiry committee concluded that she failed because she didn’t perform well. We will now conduct a detailed inquiry; an exam reform committee will also look into it. Pending inquiry, I have placed the examiners involved in the process under suspension from the exam panel,” she mentioned.
According to the University’s inquiry report, all the interior examiners from the faculty’s departments of medication, surgical procedure, obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics have been “temporarily suspended” from the panel. The report doesn’t determine the examiners.
Another final-year scholar advised The Indian Express that after the inquiry started, they have been knowledgeable {that a} “balance amount” could be returned quickly. “After the inquiry was ordered on the fund collection, there was a message in our WhatsApp group that there is a balance of Rs 5.76 lakh after all expenses, and that it will be returned soon,” the coed mentioned.
The University’s inquiry report states that the complainant obtained 193/300 in General Surgery, 127/200 in Gynaecology and 60/100 in Paediatrics however failed within the General Medicine medical examination, for which the cash was sought — she scored solely 43, seven in need of the minimal requirement.
“She said she refused to pay as she realised it was a bribe as there was no receipt. Going through her track record, it is very unlikely that she would have failed in normal circumstances,” an official supply mentioned.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior school member described the gathering of cash as a “usual practice in private medical colleges”. “They collect and pay half of the amount to external examiners. But this is a government college,” the college member mentioned.
But Vice Chancellor Seshayyan mentioned: “Due to the pandemic, external examiners had mostly conducted exams online. So there was no need for any money to be spent on their stay or food. Even if they had come in person, there were government facilities and guest houses.”