Activities of five medical colleges have been suspended and approval of one medical college has been revoked for not conducting quality education as per law and policy. Health Minister Zahid Maleque came up with the information at parliament on Sunday in reply to a tabled question from Jatiya Party MP Moshiur Rahman Ranga. The minister said that there are currently 76 private medical colleges including five run by the army in the country. The suspended private medical colleges are Nightingale Medical College, Ashulia, Dhaka (50 seats), Northern International Medical College, Dhaka (75 seats), Northern Private Medical College, Rangpur (80 seats), and Shah Makhdoom Medical College, Rajshahi (50 seats). However, the minister did not mention the name of the medical college that lost approval. Meanwhile, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury told parliament that the operation of Matarbari deep sea port can be started in 2026. He said that the Matarbari port development project was taken at an estimated cost of Tk 17777.20 crore to establish the country's first deep sea port. Also read: Ctg Shahi Jame Masjid Bill 2023 passes in parliament The duration of this project is till December 31, 2026. In reply to a query from ruling Awami League MP Kazim Uddin Ahmed, the junior minister said at present tenders have been invited in three packages for construction of 460 m long container jetty and 300m long multipurpose jetty and construction of all port facilities including container yard. He said it is expected that the construction work of jetty and container yard can be started by next July.  

The 2021-22 admission test for the country's medical colleges was held on Friday. The test was held at a total of 57 venues in 19 centers across the country, including the capital from 10 am to 11 am. Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque inspected the examination centre at Arts Building of Dhaka University at 10 am. Read: HC: Only MBBS, BDS holders can use 'Dr' before their names After the inspection, the minister said that enough preparations were taken to prevent any leakage of question. The high alert will remain until publication of results. Some people tried to spread rumors through social media about the leakage of question papers by creating fake question papers. Two people were also arrested earlier in this connection, he added. This year, a total of 1,43,915 students sat for the exam, against 4,350 seats available. Among them, 61,678 candidates participated in Dhaka city only.

All state-run and private medical colleges in Bangladesh will reopen from September 13 in a staggered manner, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Thursday. The decision to resume classroom teaching has been taken by the government in view of the improving Covid-19 situation in the country, the Minister told reporters after a meeting at the Secretariat. Read: Steps underway to reopen educational institutions: Hasina “We have decided to resume classes at all medical institutions, including government, private, Delta and nursing colleges, from September 13. It may defer by a day or two but eventually all medical institutions will be opened in a phased way,” he said. “The authorities concerned have taken all preparations for the resumption of physical classes and the teachers and students have also been covered under the nation-wide vaccination programme,” Zahid said. There are 1.5 lakh medical students in the country and they have all been asked to attend classes following all Covid-safety protocols, he added. "However, the decision could change considering the Covid situation in the country at the time." Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the government was taking all necessary measures to reopen educational institutions in the country at the earliest. “We’ve been able to control the coronavirus to a large extent. There’s no more problem regarding vaccines… I’ve already directed (the authorities concerned) to reopen schools and colleges soon,” she said. The Prime Minister said this when she joined a discussion over a motion placed in Parliament to condole the death of Awami League MP Hasibur Rahman Swapan (Sirajganj-6). Read: Meeting on reopening educational institutions Sunday The government on August 26 again extended the closure of secondary and higher secondary-level educational institutions until September 11 considering  the Covid-19 situation in the country. The government shut the educational institutions on March 17, 2020, days after the country reported its first Covid-19 cases. The closure was extended several times, most recently until August 31.

Prof. Md. Ali Ashraf, a frontline Awami League MP from Cumilla-7, on Sunday said that corruption and money laundering continue despite the government’s vow to stop the vices. Also on Sunday, another senior ruling party MP Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir from Chandpur-1 castigated the budget proposals to impose taxes on the income of private universities and medical colleges. Read: New budget proposals inadequate in tackling poverty, say rights groups Both the legislators were speaking on the Supplementary Budget in the parliament. Ali Ashraf said, “Our heads go down with shame and hate due to some big thieves.” This is not for what the nation had fought the Liberation War, he said. “We took part in the country’s Liberation War not for love for our own lives… not with the hope of getting and enjoying something,” he said. “We had fought in response to the call of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to free the people and to see smile on their faces,” he said. Read: New budget underestimated impacts of COVID-19 pandemic, says SANEM He said that although the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government unequivocally have vowed zero tolerance against corruption and those involved in money laundering, “I think adequate and proper steps should be taken in this regard.” The AL MP also suggested that the government should overhaul the tax administration to increase its efficiency, transparency, honesty and sincerity. “Otherwise, we will not be able to reach our desired destination.” Lawmaker Muhiuddin Khan criticized the government for imposing tax on the income of private universities and medical colleges in the budget for fiscal 2021-22. He said, such measures are not education friendly. Read:Budget fails to reflect people’s aspirations: BNP He mentioned that spreading of education through private entrepreneurship will be hindered due to imposing of such tax. Mohiuddin Khan also proposed that the government forms a bank commission and a tax commission for bringing reforms in these two sectors.  

The government has planned to spend Tk 935.81 billion up to 2022-23 fiscal year starting from the current one for the heath sector development as it is committed to taking healthcare facilities to the doorsteps of people.