It wasn’t even difficult, says examiner after high failure rate

AN EXAMINER involved in an examination that was failed by all would-be professional surgeons from five universities has defended the paper, saying it was not even difficult.

“Take it from me, the paper is not too difficult for people to pass. It is a standard paper that I believe most people should have passed,” said Professor Jay Pillai, a vascular surgeon at the Wits University Donald Gordon Medical Centre.

“Believe me, I’ve looked at the questions and I’m involved with setting them, they were not something out of this world that an average doctor could not pass.”

The pass mark was 50%, and students who obtained 45% were still allowed to proceed to the final round of exams, Pillai said.

He was reacting to reports that irregularities in the question paper may have caused final-year students from Wits University, UCT, University of Pretoria, Walter Sisulu University and University of the Free State to fail the exit exam written at the Fellowship of the College of Surgeons (FCS).

The FCS exams are administered by the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA). Eight universities sent 46 surgery students for this exam. Only candidates from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University and Stellenbosch University passed.

Dr Flavia Senkubuge, president of the CMSA, said that an investigation would be launched to look into the exam.

Pillai said the investigation should focus on a broad range of issues.

“We need to look at the calibre of the students. There may be some problems in the way they are trained,” he said.

The students’ preparation levels should be looked into as well.

“We need to look into whether they are overworked in the hospitals with shortage of staff. That is a national problem,” said Pillay.