The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is likely to give primary approval to several new private medical colleges at the eleventh hour of the government, with sources saying more than a dozen applications had been submitted at the ministry for approval.
The health ministry has already sent a list to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) with directives to visit and report on four new medical colleges, which were seeking primary approvals.
On the other hand, the 11 new medical colleges which had already secured primary approval from the ministry have also boosted up their efforts to get the final academic approvals within the tenure of the current government.
Recently, health ministry gave primary approvals to: Addin Basundhara Medical College, Shah Makdum Medical College, Care Medical College, United Medical College, Universal Medical College, Advocate Abdul Hamid Medical College, Khulna City Medical College, Skyview Medical College, Port City Medical College, US Medical College and Rangpur Medical College.
It has been learnt that influential people like President Abdul Hamid, Bashundhara group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, Popular Pharmaceuticals Managing Director
Mostafizur Rahman, ex-treasurer of BSMMU Prof Dr Moazzem Hossain, and ruling party-backed Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad leaders were behind the institutes.
With the government’s tenure running out, the official protocols were allegedly being ignored, with documents for approving the new med schools swiftly being passed around among officials to hasten the process.
The people who have direct or indirect ownerships in the new med schools were also allegedly pressuring and trying to bribe the officials at the medical education section of the DGHS to visit the new colleges and send positive reports to the ministry for approval.
There are also allegations that different individuals were lobbying Prof Dr ABM Abdul Hannan, director (medical education and manpower development) of the DGHS, to speed up the process of approval.
Asked on the issue, Dr Hannan said the entire process of approving new medical colleges was done within the rules. The med schools received timely approvals after submitting their applications, the DGHS director added.
Meanwhile, when asked about the academic approvals of 11 new med schools, health ministry’s Joint Secretary (medical education and manpower development) Motiur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday: “We are examining the necessary documents prior to giving academic approvals to 11 medical colleges.”
However, he added that the director of medical education at the DGHS could inform on the issue of primary approvals for more medical colleges.