Northern Private Medical College students block road with three-point demand
They raised a three-point demand and also alleged that the medical college authorities had sent “goons” to attack them
Students of Northern Private Medical College in Rangpur protested on Monday demanding that Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council's (BMDC) announcement of giving Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) graduates migration and internship opportunities be implemented.
They raised a three-point demand and also alleged that the medical college authorities had sent "goons" to attack them.
From 11:30am to noon, the students blocked the road in front of the campus for the 13th day. The locals suffered as the protest led to severe traffic jam.
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The students stopped the car of the college principal, Dr Khalilur Rahman. Though they later let him go, the "goons" of the authorities allegedly attacked them.
Soon after, the students laid down on the road and announced not to leave until their demands were met. They also demanded the attackers be given exemplary punishment.
They complained that on 16 February, the BMDC president announced to issue a letter to allow migration and internship of students within 24 hours, but no letter had been issued in the last 13 days.
There have been allegations that the medical college has been running without fulfilling the minimum conditions. Without BMDC registration and approval from the University of Rajshahi, it is taking hefty fees of Tk20-30 lakh from the students.
Even after getting the MBBS degree from the medical college, the students are unable to do internship anywhere without the approval of BMDC and the University of Rajshahi.
Although the dental unit's academic renewal and BMDC registration was cancelled in the 2013-14 academic year, there are allegations against the authorities of embezzling hundreds of crores of taka by admitting more than 500 students through ads in newspapers.
Rangpur Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Altab Hossain said, "The demands of the students are legit, but they must also consider the suffering of the people. We are trying to talk to them and the college authorities to solve the issue."
