‘Court allows substandard medical colleges to admit students’

Health and family welfare minister Mohammed Nasim on Sunday said though the court always asks for maintaining the standard of medical education, it has given clearance to substandard private medical colleges for continuing their admission process.

"We respect the court. It always asks for maintaining quality medical education... it even penalised different medical colleges. But the court has given permission to four medical colleges for conducting admission process one after another a few days back," he said.

The minister made the remark in parliament while responding to a supplementary question from treasury bench MP Panchanan Biswas (Khulna-1), reports UNB.

Nasim said the government stopped the admission activities of some private medical colleges for two consecutive years as the colleges do not have academic buildings, libraries and adequate number of teachers.

The colleges can run their academic activities, not admission process. "We (earlier) warned the colleges and served notices to them, but they did not pay heed," he said.

Nasim said the government has recently given permission again to three medical colleges to resume the admission process as they upgraded their condition.

But some other medical colleges went to the court and got permission to conduct the admission activities, he added.

"Still, the condition of the colleges has not changed...we didn't give them permission. We've warned them. But the Higher Court has given permission to some medical colleges that failed to maintain the required standards, which is beyond our notice," the minister said.

Nasim said the colleges took the permission from the court after the stipulated time of admission by hiring 'senior lawyers'.

He said it is a matter of regret that senior lawyers took the permission placing "false statements" before the court in favour of the substandard medical colleges.

Nasim said the medical colleges were questioned as to why they are destroying the lives of students getting them admitted without the permission of the ministry and Bangladesh Medical & Dental Council (BMDC).

Taking the permission from the court, the medical colleges are now exerting pressure on the ministry and BMDC to provide approval to their admission process, he bemoaned.

"We won't approve the colleges that have no standard. We won't make any compromise over medical education," the minister told the House.