NBMCH Students' protest

TT, Siliguri, April 24: Around 20 second-year MBBS students of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital held a demonstration outside the principal's chamber yesterday after fourth-semester examination had been brought forward..

According to students, the college published a notice yesterday stating the fourth-semester examinations that were supposed to begin on July 3 had been advanced to May 16.

The students protested in front of the principal's office yesterday, shouting slogans and submitted a memorandum to Samir Roy Ghosh asking him to reschedule the examination to July 3.

The students also complained that as the exams were advanced by almost one-and-a-half month, they will get less time to prepare.

"The college authorities had issued a notice at the beginning of the year stating that the fourth-semester exams for second-year students would begin on July 3. We have been preparing as per the schedule. However, yesterday the authorities came out with a fresh notice stating that the fourth-semester exam for second-year students has been rescheduled to May 16," said a second-year student.

"The authorities cannot keep changing the dates as the students have to suffer because of this. We have seven papers in the fourth-semester and the syllabus is vast. Rescheduling of the examination to an earlier date means that students will not be able to prepare thoroughly," the student added.

This year, there are 154 students in the second-year who will appear for the fourth-semester examination.

"We met the principal yesterday and submitted a memorandum asking him to reconsider the decision of bringing forward the exam to May 16. He told us that a meeting would be held with the teachers and a decision would be taken on the issue," the student said.

Roy could not be contacted. The faculty members at NBMCH said the exams had been brought forward so that the fifth-semester session could start early.

"The syllabus of the fifth-semester is vast and needs more teaching days to be completed. However, the students are not agreeing to this. We will sit for a meeting to take a final decision on the issue," a faculty member said.