Kolkata: A day after a breach of medical examination SOP came to the fore, medical colleges across the state on Thursday conducted the second professional MBBS theory examination under CCTV surveillance and frisked the examinees before allowing them entry into the exam centres.
The change came after West Bengal University of Health Sciences (WBUHS) — the affiliating body of medical, nursing and paramedical colleges — issued instructions on Wednesday after doctors and professors pointed out the “SOP violation” during the first paper of pathology, flagging concerns about the exam system going back to the pre-RG Kar movement era. “The frisking system was put in place separately for male and female candidates,” said a candidate. WBUHS will bear the expense for the arrangements made by us,” said principal of a medical college in the city. The principal of a medical college in a district said, “We had CCTVs installed at the exam centre but we had to make arrangement for eight friskers in a short time.“ Utpal Bandyopadhyay, general secretary, Association of Health Service Doctors said, “On Wednesday, we had written to health minister Sharadwat Mukherjee, who took prompt action.
“We have arranged for the CCTV surveillance and frisking of candidates. On Thursday, the medical students who appeared for the second paper of pathology stated that they had been frisked by guards with hand-held metal detectors before entering the exam hall. The exam was conducted in keeping with transparency protocols on Thursday.”