Born to a family of a poor van driver in Thakurgaon, Alpana faced difficult times growing up. Braving all odds though, she managed to crack this year's MBBS admission test. But the teenager's struggles are unlikely to end soon as her father, Aftabar Rahman, has expressed his inability to fund her medical education -- literally a luxury for even the middle-class in Bangladesh. "I want to pursue my dream without putting any pressure on my father, who's struggling to make both ends meet. Already, he has done a lot for me and my three siblings," Alpana, a resident of Dharia Belsara village in Baliadangi upazila, told UNB. Also read: Khulna’s Meem tops them all in MBBS admission test

The government will soon fix the fees of healthcare services at different private hospitals as per their service standards in a bid to reduce the harassment of patients, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday.