Seats reduced in govt medical colleges

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has redefined the seat allocation for MBBS courses in government medical colleges. Under the new decision, the total number of seats has been reduced by 280, bringing it down to 5,100 across 37 government medical colleges.

The information was disclosed in a letter signed by Sanjib Das, Senior Assistant Secretary of the Medical Education-1 Wing, on Monday, November 10. The letter was sent to Professor Dr Md Nazmul Hossain, Director General of the Directorate General of Medical Education (DGME).

According to the letter, the seat redistribution was made based on the decisions taken at a meeting held on October 30, chaired by the Adviser of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Previously, the total number of seats in the 37 government medical colleges was 5,380. With the new decision, it now stands at 5,100. Among them, 355 seats were reduced across 14 institutions, including Dhaka Medical College, while three medical colleges saw an increase of 75 seats.

According to the letter, the eight oldest and leading medical colleges; Dhaka, Chattogram, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Sylhet MAG Osmani, Barishal Sher-e-Bangla, Sir Salimullah (Dhaka), and Rangpur—each saw a reduction of 25 seats, bringing their intake down from 250 to 225.

Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College’s seats were reduced by 5 to 225. Hobiganj Medical College lost 50 seats, while Netrokona, Nilphamari, Naogaon, Magura and Chandpur Medical Colleges each lost 25 seats, bringing their capacity down to 50 each.

On the other hand, the number of seats increased at Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College in Gazipur, Tangail Medical College, and Patuakhali Medical College. Seats at both Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad and Tangail colleges rose by 25 to 125 each, while Patuakhali Medical College saw an increase of 25 to 100 seats.

Seat numbers in other government medical colleges remain unchanged. Currently, Comilla, Khulna, Bogura’s Shaheed Ziaur Rahman, Faridpur, and Dinajpur medical colleges each have 200 seats. Pabna, Noakhali, Cox’s Bazar, Jashore, Satkhira, Kishoreganj’s Shaheed Syed Nazrul Islam, Kushtia, Jamalpur and Mugda medical colleges each have 100 seats. Gopalganj and Manikganj medical colleges each have 125 seats, while Sunamganj Medical College has 75.

The DGME has been instructed to take necessary measures to implement the revised seat distribution.