For nearly 20,000 students, teachers and staff at Jahangirnagar University (JU), Medical Centre is the only healthcare facility on the campus. Yet years of staff shortages, inadequate infrastructure, limited diagnostic services and the absence of specialist physicians have continued to undermine healthcare delivery, prompting growing concern among them.
Those concerns have intensified after a surprise stock audit uncovered discrepancies involving 19,567 pieces of medicines worth approximately Tk 73,101, raising fresh questions about medicine management and exposing longstanding administrative weaknesses.
Although established to provide comprehensive healthcare at the country's only residential public university, Medical Centre has yet to develop into a full-fledged healthcare facility. It currently operates with only nine physicians, supported by a limited number of technical, administrative and support staff. During weekends and night shifts, services largely depend on doctors appointed on daily contracts.
Students say the shortage directly affects emergency care. "I waited almost 30 minutes at emergency section without proper treatment because no doctor was available," said student Youna Akter, questioning whether meaningful reforms would come only after another tragedy.
Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Md Shamsur Rahman acknowledged the challenges, saying the centre regularly receives critically ill patients despite lacking specialists in cardiology, internal medicine, gynaecology and dentistry. Officials said repeated proposals to appoint part-time specialists have yet to receive administrative approval.
Medical Centre also operates without nurses, ward attendants or female support staff, leaving doctors dependent on patients' relatives or fellow students during emergencies. Laboratory services remain limited to basic pathological tests, forcing patients to seek most diagnostic investigations at private facilities. Although an ECG machine is available, it remains largely unused because there is no trained technician.
Ambulance services continue to be another major concern. Doctors say only three ambulances serve the entire university community, while students complain that vehicles are often unavailable during emergencies, particularly at night. The issue drew widespread attention in 2025 following the death of anthropology student Jobayer Hossain amid allegations of delays in ambulance support, triggering campus protests and a nine-point demand for comprehensive healthcare reforms.
Students also continue to refer to the facility as "Napa Centre," alleging that patients are frequently prescribed only basic medicines and are often forced to buy essential drugs from outside pharmacies due to shortages. Doctors, however, attribute the situation to inadequate medicine allocations and budget constraints rather than clinical negligence.
The latest audit revealed major inconsistencies between inventory records and actual medicine stocks, including shortages of alatrol, paracetamol, famotidine, tiemonium, napron, domperidone and azithromycin. Students say such shortages have become routine, while physicians claim repeated requests for additional manpower, equipment and funding have received little response.
Prof Dr Mohammad Nazrul Islam, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Administration) and Chairman of the Medical Centre Advisory Committee, said an investigation into the medicine discrepancies has been launched and promised disciplinary action against those responsible. He also pledged stronger oversight of medicine procurement, storage and distribution.
