Doctor Loses Medal Over Technicality

Dr Soumya M S was exultant she'd won a gold medal in her post-graduation course but now she's stunned into sadness. For, the university has told her she won't get it.

A student of the Bangalore Medical College, she topped the MS (ENT) course with 70% and her name was among the gold medallists in the provisional list of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) released on Feb. 16, 2008.

On Saturday, Soumya found that not only was her name missing but another student's
name was listed as the topper.

"When I approached the university authorities, they told me I didn't complete the course within the minimum period. I had taken maternity leave for 5 1/2 months with the university's
permission. During this period, I was not given any attendance or stipend. This means I have three years of attendance, which is the course duration. Since I was on leave, I had to write the exam in October 2008,'' she said.

RGUHS explains it differently. "The university put up the list of students who satisfied the eligibility criteria for gold medals. The first list was announced so that people could file their objections. A girl from Belgaum said she is eligible for the rank as she completed the course in April," Dr S Sacchidanand, registrar (evaluation), RGUHS told STOI.

He added: "The candidate should have the highest marks in MS (ENT) and completed the course in the first attempt in the minimum period of time. But in Soumya's case, she completed the course in three years and six months. The the admission date and completion date are mentioned in the marksheet and degree certificate
. The donor mentioned that the gold medal should be given to those who complete the course in the minimum possible duration, which is three years. It all depends on the donors' criteria. If they say it can be awarded to candidates with highest marks, then we'll consider October also," he added.

However, Dr B Shankar Medikeri, secretary, Bangalore ENT Trust, which instituted the Dr M V Venkateshmurthy gold medal said: "The guidelines, which were instituted in 2003, states that an MS student passing in the first attempt and completing the course in minimum possible duration and securing highest marks in MS (ENT) shall be eligible for the gold medal."

But Dr Soumya said: "In the previous years, students who topped, whether in April or October, were given medals. I've approached the Upa Lok Ayukta to settle the issue."