Noor Khan Bakhrani
Seeking education is basic and constitutional right of every child. Education is free for all and every child has equal rights to achieve higher education. Truly, nowadays the above sentences are fairy tales and such dialogues are seemed to be a white lie and lofty jokes. The policy makers neither make parallel policies nor offer equal opportunities to all and sundry. It is regretfully, stated that the merit is violated at all levels in our country since 75 years of independence. Not to speak of recruitments but here in Sindh province getting admission in medical/engineering fields on merit basis has become dream for the poor and diligent students. The wrong policies always favour the elite class but the hardworking students of poor families are kept deprived of getting admission to the choice of their own. Every year the admissions in medical/engineering fields for limited seats on the reserved district quota for each and every district on the basis of population are made through MDCAT/ECAT entrance test conducted by Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) or relevant universities. The merit has always been doubtful and questionable. Sometimes either test paper was leaked before scheduled date and time or sometimes answer key was sold out in millions of rupees to influential ones and mafias which causes usurpation of rights of meritorious students. It is also pertinent to mention here, that the distribution of merit seats for every district is not transparent and does not fulfill the criteria of merit. Even few districts with very low population were allotted more seats than those with ratio of high population. This is the same case with our district Kashmore. As per statistics displayed through 2017 census the population of District Kashmore is approximately eleven lac but only 28 total MBBS & 48 B.E seats were allocated. On the other hand the adjacent neighbouring district Shikar Pur, despite 12 lac population has been allotted total 32 MBBS and 63 B.E merit seats with the difference of population of only one lac. Similarly, Jacobabad district with 10 lac population has the quota of total 32 MBBS and 63 B.E merit seats. Another injustice with district Kashmore engineering side students is that there is not a single seat of civil engineering technology in Mehran University of Engineering and Technology Jamshoro reserved for Kashmorian. If other districts with low population were allotted seat of civil engineering technology but why not quota of civil engineering seat was allocated for our district Kashmore? Having gone through the prospectus, the seat distribution of these districts one can observe the gross injustice with Kashmorian. This is not only travesty of justice but also sheer injustice with the students of District Kashmore regarding the distribution or allocation of merit quota seats for both medical as well as engineering fields. This big dacoity on merit seats is being done since last many years. No one neither takes the notice of this grave and serious issue nor raises the voice for affected candidates of Kashmore to the relevant authorities to provide speedy justice. The process of new admissions for the session 2022-23 in medical/engineering universities and colleges is underway but there is inferiority complex and uncertainty spread among the MDCAT/ECAT candidates of District Kashmore who were deprived of their due share of merit seats. We demand from Chief minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, Federal minister Mir Ihsan-u-Rahman Khan Mazari, Provincial minister Mir Shabbir Ali Khan Bijarani sb and other electables of Kashmore to take notice of this matter on priority basis, redress the grievances and resolve the most important issue faced by MDCAT/ECAT candidates regarding fair and transparent distribution of allocated district-based merit seats before the process of new admissions is completed.
