However, some students did not complete their internships and falsified assessment material, so they could go travelling. Professor Barry Taylor, who was dean of the Otago Medical School at the time, said some students “exhibited very poor judgement” in taking “significant” time away from their placements “to travel and holiday and then not accurately reflecting this in their elective reports”. Hamish McNeilly/Stuff Professor Barry Taylor was dean of the Otago Medical School when the investigation was announced in November 2019. An internal inquiry was carried out and in November last year, 53 students – 21.5 per cent of the year group – had their qualifications withheld.