Bangladesh’s fifth medical university, named after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is going to be set up in Khulna with the aim of expanding access to developed healthcare services as well as creating the scope for higher medical education and research.
The cabinet in its regular weekly meeting on Monday gave final approval to a draft of the Sheikh Hasina Medical University, Khulna Act, 2020.The prime minister herself was in chair.
“The cabinet [Monday] gave the final nod to a draft of the Sheikh Hasina Medical University, Khulna Act 2020 to establish a medical university in Khulna division,” Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said at a news briefing after the meeting at the secretariat.
Anwarul added that the main purpose of establishing the medical university in Khulna division is to nurture and build highly-educated expert researchers in medicine at the postgraduate level alongside maintaining and improving the standard of education and research in medical colleges at the graduate level.
The premier virtually attended the meeting from Ganabhaban, her official residence.
Anwarul said that the law has been formulated based on the laws for setting up Rajshahi, Chattogram and Sylhet medical universities and has 55 sections.
All public and private medical colleges, dental colleges, nursing colleges and institutes as well as medical institutes in Khulna division will be affiliated with the university, he added.
The government has decided to set up the medical university in Khulna division in line with the Awami League election manifesto 2018, which says a medical university will be set up in each division.
Anwarul said that the cabinet also gave final approval to the draft of the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation Order, 1973 (Amendment-2020) mainly to modernize the existing law.
The government of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman enacted the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation Order, 1973 with a view to helping the country’s tourism industry flourish.
Once the proposed law is passed it will help to boost the country’s tourism sector by reducing unemployment.The amendment has extended the jurisdiction of the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC), the cabinet secretaryadded.
As per the law, the board of directors of the BPC will be formed with 16 members,as opposed to the existing system of a minimum three members or maximum five members.
The proposed law suggests making the secretary of the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry the chairman of the board and creating a post of executive director, who will work as the BPC’s chief executive, Anwarul said, adding that the chairman is the chief executive of the BPCin the existing system.
The cabinet secretary also said the cabinet has approved the Medical Degrees (Repeal) Act,2020 as the existing Medical Degrees Act, 1916 has had all its provisions incorporated into the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council Act, 2010.
The cabinet also approved in principle two separate proposals onjoint declarationsof establishing diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Commonwealth of Dominica, a mountainous Caribbean island nation, and Saints Kits and Nevis, an island country in the West Indies.
