Students of various educational institutions of Dhaka who hail from Panchagarh have demanded setting up of a medical college and hospital in Panchagarh. They formed a human chain in front of the national Museum at Shahabagh in the capital around 12pm on Saturday. Majharul Houqe Prodhan, parliament member of Panchagarh -1, Mahbubur Rahman Faruki, joint secretary to Road Transport Division, Dhaka University unit Chhatra League General secretary Saddam Hussein, among others, joined the programme. "The demand for establishment of a medical college and hospital in Panchagarh is not something new. We have been demanding for it since a long time," MP Majharul Islam said. Read: A modern international standard medical education system is on the anvil: Official document "I raised this demand at the National Parliament in the presence of the Prime Minister but it has not been implemented yet. Presently Panchagarh Sadar Hospital has 250 beds. Another medical college can be established. The people of Panchagarh still have to go to different places for better treatment," he added. Mahbubur Rahman said, "Patients are usually referred to Rangpur, Dinajpur or Dhaka from Panchagarh. Many people die on the way from Panchagarh or many do not get treatment due to financial constraint."

The authorities have banned all kinds of electronic devices from being carried into the examination centers for the medical admission test, which will begin in Dhaka city on Friday.  The MBBS admission test for five medical colleges in Dhaka city for the 2021-2022 academic year will be held from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on Friday, April 1.  Besides, the candidates appearing for the medical admission test have been instructed to come to the center wearing masks to prevent Covid-19 infection. However, there will be arrangements to supply masks if anyone enters the exam Centre without wearing masks.  The decisions were taken from a coordination meeting of the concerned authorities taking the medical admission test with DMP Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam at DMP headquarters on Monday. A number of instructions, including those mentioned in the meeting, were adopted.  Several decisions were taken to complete the medical admission test in a transparent and smooth manner.   The medical admission test will be conducted in accordance with proper hygiene rules. Adequate police will be deployed in each center. Candidates will not be allowed to take any other paper in except the admission card for the admission test. The gate of the center will be opened at 8 in the morning. Every examinee has to enter the center by 9:30 am. The gate of the center will be closed after 9:30. At the time of entering the examination center, the bodies of all the examinees will be searched. No one will be able to keep a mobile phone except the center in-charge. In addition, there will be a mobile court in each center. READ: Medical college admission test on Apr 2 as per schedule: Minister It may be mentioned that a total of 61,678 candidates are expected to participate in the admission test in 18 centers in Dhaka Metropolitan City on Friday.  The centers are: Dhaka Medical College (9 centers): Dhaka University Faculty of Arts building; Lecture Theater Building; The Faculty of Business Studies building; Faculty of Social Sciences; Mokaram Hossain, Science Building; AF Mujibur Rahman, Math’s Building, Science Building; Kazi Motahar Hossain Bhaban; Udayan High School and Begum Badrunnesa Government Women's College, Bakshi Bazar, Dhaka.  Sir Salimullah Medical College (3 centers): Eden Mohila College, Dhaka College, and New Model Multipurpose High School, Dhaka. Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College (2 centers): Tejgaon College, Indira Road, Dhaka and Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Agargaon, Dhaka. Mugda Medical College (2 centers): Ideal School and College, Motijheel Campus, Dhaka and Ideal School and College, Mugda Campus, Dhaka.  Dhaka Dental College (2 centers): Government Titumir College, Dhaka and Government Bangla College, Mirpur, Dhaka.  The coordination meeting was attended by additional commissioners of DMP, representatives of 5 medical colleges and admission test centers, senior officials of DMP and representatives of various intelligence agencies.

The results of the 2020-21 admission test for the MBBS course at the country’s public and private medical colleges were published on Sunday, with 3 out of every 5 candidates who sat the test failing. Ali Nur, secretary of the Health Education Department under the Health Ministry, announced the results at around 7:00 pm from the health directorate. A total of 48,975 candidates (39.86 percent) passed the test this year, nearly four times the number of available seats in 47 public and 70 private medical colleges of the country. Also read: All professional MBBS final exams postponed The full results are available at the DGHS website. There were a total of 116,792 aspirants who participated in the admission test this year. The qualified students will get the chance to get enrolled first at public medical colleges and then at private ones on merit basis. Read AFMC, Army Medical College admission tests postponed