The Tribhuvan University (TU) Executive Council has charged the Institute of Medicine (IoM) with the responsibility to take call on the legitimacy of MBBS entrance exam held in October. The TU Executive Council has confirmed that there had been anomalies in the MBBS entrance exam and questions were leaked.

Earlier on October 14, over 15 students and fraudsters were arrested from various examination centres for using sophisticated wireless devices to cheat in the entrance exam. The IoM then had decided to withhold the results to carry out an investigation.

A committee was formed by TU to investigate the issue surrounding the MBBS entrance of IoM.

On Wednesday, the TU executive council summoned its meeting that had failed to give any headway on the entrance row.

Acting on the report of police investigation, medical council and the probe committee of TU, which had concluded that the question papers were leaked and the entrance examination was undisciplined, the Executive Council meeting held on Thursday directed IoM to take necessary decision on the matter.

“The council has said the question papers were leaked, police investigation too shows the same. Even our report signed by IoM doctors indicates that the rules were violated in the examination,” said TU Vice-chancellor Tirtha Khaniya, adding that since there were irregularities in examination, the IoM has been asked to take decision.

Khaniya said that according to TU law the right to make decision is vested upon IoM and therefore the case has been referred to the IoM for the decision.

The racket involved in helping students to cheat the examination was found in possession of answers to 60 multiple choice questions.  When police tallied the answers with the questions, 14 answers were found matching the question paper. Based on this evidence, police have concluded that the question paper was leaked.

A total of 8,827 students had appeared in the entrance examination conducted by IoM for 625 seats of seven medical colleges. The examination was held in 17 centres across the country.

It was found that fake examinees were attending the exams in some centre while in others, students were found cheating using wireless electronic devices.

Police have arrested three rackets for their involvement in the incident.

Investigations found that the students had paid as much as Rs500,000 to the fraudsters who had promised successful results. Police have filed a case under “organised crime”.