BANGALORE: If you are caught cheating in the COMED-K postgraduate entrance test for Medical and Dental streams that is to be held on February 13, be ready to have your registration certificate withdrawn or annulled.
For the first time, the Confederation of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges in Karnataka (COMED-K) will request the Medical Council of India and the State Council to invoke Chapter 8 of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 for cancellation of registration certificates of the candidates who are caught for indulgence in malpractice.
“Malpractice has become a bane. For medical professionals to indulge in such practices is shameful, leading to a chain effect on the education system and society as a whole. So, we have introduced this measure along with a number of other precautions,” AS Srikanth, chief executive, COMED-K, told reporters here on Friday.
COMED-K will also publish photographs and other details of the erring students on websites and will request all examination authorities in the county to ban those candidates from appearing for tests in the future. “We want to instil a sense of moral fear in the candidates,” said Srikanth.
Also for the first time, signal jammers and portable metal detectors will be used at the test centres, along with biometric data collection, verification of candidates with a valid photo ID proof and recording of the candidate’s residential address.
The test centres will have a ‘block system’ arrangement, with each block accommodating 24 candidates. “The arrangement is such that candidates sitting next to each other or behind will not get similar versions of the question paper. We have prepared around 4-5 versions of the papers,” said Dr A C Ashok, test director.
The test will be held on February 12 between 2.30 pm and 5.30 pm in 12 medical and 19 dental colleges. With a 11 per cent increase from last year’s applicants, a total of 18,418 candidates (12909 for medical and 5509 for dental) are taking the test in the city.