What Happened: On Wednesday, the University of Health Sciences (UHS) Lahore announced that they have decided to postpone the postgraduate entry test which was due to be held this week. They added that the primary reason for this was due to internet disruptions across major cities due to the Tehreek-i-Laibbaik (TLP) riots as well as the worsening COVID situation. A new date for the exam is to be announced soon.
یونیورسٹی آف ہیلتھ سائنسز کے زیراہتمام 25 اپریل کو ہونے والا پوسٹ گریجویٹ انٹری ٹیسٹ ملتوی. pic.twitter.com/OdllyWveLP
— University of Health Sciences Lahore (@uhslhrofficial) April 21, 2021
The reaction: Students were largely unhappy with the decision to postpone, citing the tough year they’ve already encountered, which was riddled with uncertainty and difficulty on the academic front.
UHS has no intentions of anything simple lack of planning, unplanned exam taken in an unprofessional manner evaluated further on merit to produce a bunch of numbers on paper that they call result
— Sameed, MD (@_MSAMEED) April 19, 2021
The bigger picture: The education sector all over the world, and particularly in Pakistan has been riddled with chaos and confusion since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the last year, aspiring MBBS students dealt with the rescheduling of their exams multiple times, while schools swung between opening and closing frequently. Currently, students continue protesting against the decision to proceed with the in-person CIE examinations, due to be held in May.