With the ongoing Covid-19 taking a tougher turn in the country, authorities concerned are once again preparing to push the schedule of medical and dental college admission tests by almost three months.
Earlier in October, Directorate General of Health Education (DGHE) Director General Dr AHM Enayet Hussain told the media that authorities are prepared to hold the admission tests, but were waiting for the publication of the accumulated result of the HSC students as they were auto-promoted this year.
Generally, medical and dental college admission tests are held every year during early October and classes start after January.
In late November, a meeting at the Health Ministry decided that the admission tests will be held after February 2021, possibly in the first week of March.
Confirming the matter, Md Shakhawat Hossain, additional secretary (medical education) of Medical Education and Family Welfare Division under Ministry of Health And Family Welfare, told Dhaka Tribune that the decision has not been announced yet, and therefore, mentioning any specific date without the government announcement would not be wise.
A notification will be issued soon after a final decision is made in this regard, he added.
He, however, also confirmed that no decision has been made to make any changes to the method of the admission test and students will have to sit for the exams.
When contacted, DGHE DG Dr AHM Enayet Hussain said no date has been fixed yet but a decision has been made to hold the exams.
“We have a policy to follow and currently there is no alternative but to hold the admission tests,” he added.
"We have made arrangements to hold the exams by ensuring health guidelines. So, there is no chance to enroll new students without any admission test," he added.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, a DGHS official said the decision in this regard awaits the publication of this year’s HSC results.
“An official decision will be made possibly in the next two weeks after the results are published,” the official said.
The Ministry of Education previously formed an expert committee to give opinions on how averages will be calculated from the results of the eighth-grade completion and SSC exams and how those who have changed departments in the higher secondary section will be evaluated.
More than 72,000 students compete for some 10,408 seats in 36 government and 70 private medical colleges across the country. There are 4,068 seats in government medical colleges and 6,340 in private institutions.
As some 282 extra seats had been added to 18 government medical colleges this year, the number of seats have risen to 10,690. At the same time due to auto pass the number of admission seekers is expected to be higher as well.
About 1.4 million students were expected to take part in HSC this year.
However, all educational institutions across the country were shut off from March 17 for the emerging pandemic situation; therefore, HSC and equivalent examinations were also suspended.