SAHIWAL: Preparations are being made to hold the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) at the Government Postgraduate College on Aug 25 (Sunday) despite non-payment of dues of the last year’s test that the University of Health Sciences (UHS) has to pay to the college.

Besides the issue of dues, the college faces disturbance in holding the regular classes for its own students, which remain suspended for the whole week before the test though the teaching faculty remains present during the period.

The college’s focal person for MDCAT, Iftikhar Ahmed Malik, told Dawn the UHS had yet to clear previous years pending ‘dues’ to the college administration.

Last year, it was the second the largest MDCAT centre in Punjab with 3,744 candidates while this year, 4,216 candidates are schedule sit the test in Sahiwal.

Infrastructure of the college, including 148 classrooms, main auditorium hall, basement hall, two seminar rooms, science laboratories, ICS and BCS- IT Labs, six reading rooms of two libraries and corridors, would be utilised for candidates’ seating arrangements and execution of the entrance test.

4,216 candidates to sit the test this year; college grapples with arrangements, expenses

The sources said 4,500 chairs had been arranged for the test from which 2,000 have provided by the college while 2,500 have been borrowed from 20 boys and girls high schools within the city premises.

A source close to the situation said around 60 college employees, including sweepers, gardeners, hostel attendants and laboratory assistant, were engaged in adjusting examination chairs and bringing out furniture from classrooms to make all possible space that could be utilised for those sitting the test. He said half of the college teaching faculty and complete administrative faculty, along with the head of the college, were fully engaged in making upcoming entry test a success.

Although MDCAT is conducted and managed by the UHS, in collaboration with local district and divisional administration, the college high-ups being executors receive the standard operating procedures (SOPs) shared through the Higher Education Department, DPI Colleges, Lahore and Director Colleges, Sahiwal.

“Practically speaking, all the academic activities get halted for six days,” another source close to situation told Dawn on condition of anonymity. It is learnt more than 3,000 enrolled students at inter, graduation and master level get disturbance for six days because of MDCAT.

A senior administrative faculty head while replying to the question of financial expenditures incurred on the test told Dawn around 80pc ‘specified expenditures’ laying with the college for the whole academic year got consumed during these six days.

More than 200 invigilators appointed by the UHS for MDCAT get remuneration for their duty but the college lower staff did not get any financial benefits of their labour. “The UHS should pay for the extra duty we perform for the test,” a college sweeper demanded.

Deputy Commission Muhammad Zaman Wattoo told Dawn more than 18 public sector departments, including building, highways, TMA, rescue 1122, traffic police, bomb disposal squad, civil defense, police and other law enforcement agencies, are involved in execution of MDCAT but the UHS did not share any financial cost with any department.

“All financial cost incurred on the holding MDCAT are generated locally,” he added.

The stakeholders have demanded holding the test in different colleges, instead of just the Govt Postgraduate College, Sahiwal.

According to the Sahiwal college sources, the college management committee had raised the issue of dues with the UHS team that visited the college regarding arrangements for the test.

The focal of the UHS for MDCAT and director admin Ijaz Hussain said there were two kinds of expenses incurred on the test, internal and external expenses. The internal expenses, including the payment made to on invigilators, were paid by the UHS while the external expenses, including those incurred on infrastructure and persons engaged by the college for preparations, were made by the Punjab government, he said and added that that the UHS had nothing to do with such expenses.

The sources said Rs70,000 were due to be paid for the last year’s test by the UHS while the college had spent more than Rs200,000 so far this year.

UHS focal person for MDCAT for Sahiwal college, Dr Usman, accepted that the university had yet to pay for expenses for the test conducted last year but he did not confirm the amount of the dues. He said the payment of the previous dues would be made by the finance department of the university.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2019