Health minister not for any new pvt medic

Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen has said he is not in favour of expanding the number of medical colleges in the private sector, saying he is committed to ensuring the excellence of the existing institutions in the country.

"I am not in favour of setting up any new private medical college. We want to ensure the quality of the medical colleges we have. I will work to ensure quality, not quantity," said Dr Sen, who is a physician by profession, during a conference at the Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in Dhaka on Thursday.

"I think there is still a shortage of teachers in our medical colleges. If I can't overcome that crisis and cannot teach students, they will still become doctors and treat any of you or me. I am in favour of producing quality doctors. I will do everything to this end," he added.

The smooth execution of the MBBS admission test for 2023-24, set for Friday, will be a big challenge, said the health minister.

"A total of 104,374 students will sit for the exam. No one will be allowed to enter the hall after 9:30am. Mobile and electronic devices are not allowed in the exam hall. Ensuring all this is a big task for me so soon after becoming a minister," he continued.

The exam will be held at 19 centres across the country from 10am to 11am.

The minister warned that action will be taken according to the law if rumours are spread about the exam.

This year, the number of seats in 37 government medical colleges is 5,380, and the number is 6,295 at 67 private medical colleges.

Additionally, six private medical colleges have been shut down for not fulfilling certain criteria. Out of these, admission has been halted at four private medical colleges, while two have been deregistered.

Officials said at the press conference that the admission process for United Medical College will continue despite the closure of the hospital attached to it due to a lack of registration, with its registration currently under legal process.

They explained that since hospital attachment is not required in the first year, the college's name remains on the list of participating institutions.