There is no any college rather a board of examiners in Bangladesh that grasps the FCPS examination and recommends the degree to those who can satisfy all the board members by their individual system of assessment which was not at all standardized alongside any established university of Bangladesh or overseas degrees. They depend on government medical colleges for their examiners, examinations, patients and all others. They are having neither teacher of their individual nor exercise hospitals, patients, beds, students and/or teaching method i.e. no service to the people. The examination cost are considerable with sky-scraping income, might be the uppermost in Bangladesh without any expenditure with a passing rate that is excessively low (0-0.5%), and this is probable for only a number of conditioned candidates. This is the biggest commercialization of medical science and supreme unethical matter to its candidates. It is not restricted by the government or any of its organizations and not synchronized by any university system. Some of its fellows (so called elected bodies) sporadically take control in excess of it and influence its examination and information organism.
Few populaces liked to develop into physicians in the pre-Bangladesh epoch. Excellent students liked to turn into physicists, chemists, biologists or otherwise not physicians because government service was inadequate. Primarily LMF doctors direct the chair.
Through introduction of MBBS they drop their self-esteem and then came FCPS to do the similar to MBBS doctors. Few years reverse, when the numbers of MBBS doctors were inadequate, they were painstaking the ‘big’ doctors and people went to them for healthier treatment. The performance of those MBBS doctors were extremely appreciated and honored.
As the number of MBBS doctors were growing with growth of new government and private medical colleges MBBS practice drop, an wickedness antagonism emerged and representatives were employed to grasp patients beside with appointment and posting of these doctors to various health complexes and district hospitals and as well centrally.
Unethical flourished as a profession
In 1971, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibar Rahman presented required government service to doctors and all high-quality students are then contending for MBBS admission and all doctors were straightforwardly recruited to government service from the ultimate MBBS examination cultivate the period of HM Ershad who clogged it everlastingly without BCS qualification in 1985.
Through this time, the number of MBBS doctors in government service enlarged a lot and as is customary, they misplaced their previous decorum. Now MD/MS competent doctors are coming out from different universities and MD/ MS vs FCPS skirmish started. In order to triumph the game, a lot of doctors are combating for both types.
The number of both FCPS and MD/MS doctors are growing in number and the probability of maintenance earlier pride is diminishing and introduction of MRCP in Bangladesh will possible to deteriorate it further.
Undeniably this is happening and propagation of MD/MS may well effect in the end of FCPS epoch and might end the BCPS restricted Fellowship of College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Almost immediately the MBBS doctors were replaced by FCPS doctors and compliments and honors of MBBS level were hijacked by FCPS doctors as since the number of MBBS doctors were growing and number of participant were rising and they missing their practices from all the cities and towns.
In order to continue to exist, more and more MBBS doctors are affianced in receiving the advanced degrees.
To keep up its earnings and applicant bank, the BCPS now adopted definite principles of their posses. Because of stringent examination and extremely low accomplishment rates in FCPS part I, number of applicants in part II were only a little and earnings from this level were inadequate. Few years back the FCPS part I was very much hard to pass reason is the fundamental subjects such as anatomy, physiology, pathology etc. were incorporated in it with by word of mouth and practical (face to face) exams and only a small number of people could pass those exams and the applicants in part II were very much inadequate in number and they participated in all sections of FCPS II examination and final results were acknowledged altogether subsequently. For definite government job amenities, more and more people were paying attention to FCPS degrees but BCPS had to grip this hoard. They have raised the examination fees, started a latest primary and secondary enrolment and preliminary examination schemes.
The only difficulty was that the earnings from part II examination were not rising. The offered part II FCPS candidates were only some in number and some of them were fleeting with every examination and candidate bank was extremely small compared to part I. This was since the passing rate of part I was so low that it would receive more than the life time of a candidate to overtake all those engaged in part I and then participate for the part II. A pleasant plan was prepared. Presently they distorted the strategy and changed the Part I exams to simple MCQ system so that a huge number of candidates instantly passed and beleaguered the equilibrium of the part II. They completed their earlier system to permit the MCQ qualified candidates for FCPS part II examination. The gain was excellent. Now their income from the part II exams enlarged beyond thoughts. Now both part of the examination is beleaguered with candidate bank and people are combating for their heart and soul to exceed the part II exams and there is each opportunity of losing the preceding decorum though by this time FCPS doctors are no more incoming than earlier MBBS doctors.
In order to maintain the decorum/ earnings of FCPS to level BCPS was doing the whole thing to boundary the fleeting rate by introducing the OSPE system and stricter rules and specialists from home and overseas. Passing rate declined to 0.0-0.5% in various subjects and with this rate, the lifetime possibility of breakdown raised supplementary to near about 100% and candidate bank will certain to get bigger day by day, as since there is no transmit on method like universities. Candidates take pleasure in limitless right of entry to this exclusive examination and there is no age bar to emerge in the examination. The system is managed in such a method that a candidate who will never exceed, still thinks that subsequently time he or she might pass though having a possibility of passing a few greater than 0.5%. He or she is essentially having the golden deer that one cannot depart alone without pursuing at the back till the life is blemished.
Day by day more and more people are successively amuck at the back this golden deer and we discover that unlike the universities, the BCPS is not causative to any development in medical education or improvement of the health care organism of the country; slightly it is gradually more alarmed in keeping pride of its degree by cheating its candidates. With technical progression, newer medical colleges are implicated in MD / MS courses to enlarge the number of experts to convene the escalating demand on various fields. On the other hand, the BCPS regulations are repeatedly distorted by its fellows so as not to amplify the number of competent doctors that might influence their practices and inferior their principles to the level like that of the MBBS doctors. This leads to enormous unethical to group people apart from a few. There are reasons to question as to how an important person can pass without some top undisclosed inequitable assistance manifested by hard determination competitions among fellows that legalizes this bunch cheating.
There are questions concerning the exam structure in part II. Previously it consisted written, clinical, practical and oral exams and now rehabilitated to written, OSPE and clinical and oral exams. The OSPE system raised the breakdown rate considerably and set aside the number of passes to earlier level in spite of the enormous enlarge in the number of part II examinees. This was considered in such a way that it worked as a catch for almost all excluding for those who are sloping and knowledgeable previously. It is surprising that some people previously knew what will be locating in the exams and they get ready consequently. The moment is very much inadequate for the number of questions to be answered in every table and only a few of them can be answered usually. There is no time to think and get ready answers if someone is not informed previously. It is a immense horror for those who are not knowledgeable but absolutely a enjoyment for the fellows who passed previously and those who are up to date.
Again comes the clinical and oral exams with face to face acknowledgment system. There are lots of complains and pains concerning those clinicians. There is no set boundary of questioning, no control or monitoring with 100% probability of biased questioning if some examiners desire to fail the candidate. No consistent questioning organism exists and no candidate knows what will be asked and no examiner also know what should not be asked. So, a extremely famous proverb for this college exists that says: failure is normal and passing is an accident. This is accurate for all the candidates except a few peers who are shut to the examiners. Their history of bias and face recognitions are well known from the antique times. They construct pass those whom they like or whom they favor. For others, it is awfully hard or impractical to pass. (Though sometimes some foreigner examiners are imported but this is actually eyewash). The superior fellows may put easier questions to their favorites and strange questions to those whom they do not favor or do not like or do not know. Questions to all candidates were never the alike and therefore no consistency can be prepared in any way. Each one has to face various types of questions with no possibility of passing for those whom they do not like.
The cheating does not finish here. Sometimes some significant senior fellow or politician allows some of their favorites to exceed but other to fail to maintain the proportion to the level. But typically no questions of validity arise at any time since the candidates have no right to complain in any way and results were never challenged in any way at any time. There is no monitoring of the actions of BCPS. Let it be beneath assured rules and regulation so that integrated judgment system can be prepared for all the examinees.
There ought to be monitoring in such a way that will eliminate the probability of partiality from examiners from side to side non-facing examination system like MRCP /Dhaka university. A whole length non facing examination system should be arranged by the universities for the commercial institutes like BCPS which are running without consistent rules. The survey must be consistent and not depend on their will and the effect will depend on candidate’s skills that they have developed so remote and commerciality and bias are both detached while controlling the propagation of post graduate medical educations.
The BCPS should be required to pursue definite regulations and should not change them arbitrarily or use them for commercial purposes. The health education should be same as the established universities and the authority or the fellows of BCPS must recognize them, pursue them and honor them. The best method to stop their domination is to dissolve this college and/or raise the number of admissions in various MS/ MD specialties under the government universities to grow the higher medical educations throughout the country. The higher medical educations being the very important part of the population health care system cannot be reliant on private/ commercial institutes like BCPS or its definite fellows those do not permit others to seize their place by having control in their hands for panic that their earnings will go down if the number of fellows increases. More over the Government ought to monitor the actions of BCPS as to why its elections are much contestant mediated and major politics are involved in the questioning and disclosing those to their peers so that where the louse cannot pass but elephants goes through.
The examination is entirely influenced system as its results are determined by the examiners facing the examinees which have each chance of disloyalty. These examiners are most biased because there is no check and control on their actions.
There are discrepancies at all levels since the whole system is based on subjective estimate, examinees expression, and minor faults that are commonly used as tools to humiliate and fail the candidates.
We are very much annoyed with the discrepancies. Please take some steps as follows
- A standard non facing randomized examination system
- Uniformity in questionnaire
- Stopping indiscriminate questioning in order to uniform standardization in all parts of the examination
- More frequent examinations to reduces loss of years where the well prepared one can reappear at shorter intervals
- Reduce the cost of examination fees
- A carry on system is to be needed to reduce substantial loss of resources and to check inhumane commercialization
- A well established and accepted method of examination with pre-selected cases and questioning where the examiners will have no chance to disseminate the information prior to completion of the exam. There is no need to create panic to the examinees if the examiners cannot have chance to disseminate information to their peers.
Courtesy: Mohammad Shariful Islam and Opera
