Angered over the majority of the students flunking the Anatomy practical examination, the second year students of the MBBS course from Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) in Dehradun have been staging a 'dharna' (a sit-in) at the college since Monday evening.
The students have alleged that 40 out of 52 students have failed the practical examination held on the subject of Anatomy, who had already appeared in the supplementary exams in August and passed the written exams. One student, who is a part of the protest said that the HoD of Anatomy Dr S K Agarwal had reportedly told the students that he would see to it personally that all the students did not qualify the practical examinations. Those who did not clear the practicals will now have to repeat a year, a prospect which led to the agitation among the students and their guardians ever since the declaration of the results. The results were declared by Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Uttarakhand Medical Education University, which administers the college.
Several parents also joined their wards in the protest since Tuesday. According to a Times of India report, a mother of an agitating student said, "It is a mystery as to why the students are scoring low marks in the practical examination of one particular subject while they are scoring high in other subjects. It is not that it has happened this year. The trend has been going on over the past three years. However, this year, the students’ patience has run out and quite naturally so."
A senior official of the medical education department told TOI that a team of two external and internal examiners are responsible for conducting the practical examinations. "It is a matter of surprise how all the examiners concurred on flunking the students by just one or two marks. If the students are alleging that a senior professor was biased against them, did the remaining three professors simply agree to whatever marks he gave and never felt like opposing his decision?"
Protesting students have also alleged that failing students en masse has become a kind of trend for this college. Following the students' allegations, the university announced on Tuesday that a five-member committee will investigate the matter. Based on the report of the inquiry committee, the university would like to take action further action.
