PM Launches Academic Activities of 11 Public Medical Colleges

"We are thanking the health ministry to set up more public medical colleges in the country. Besides a huge number of private medical colleges have already been established, while six more private medical colleges would be set up in the country soon," she said.

"So, I would like to request the health ministry to ensure that the standard of these medical colleges is maintained strictly and no patient-killing doctor comes out of these medical colleges," she added.

Eleven public medical colleges that launched their academic activities today are Sirajganj Medical College, Tangail Medical College, Manikganj Medical College, Jamalpur Medical College, Patuakhali Medical College, Rangamati Medical College, Rangpur Army Medical College, Jessore Army Medical College, Chittagong Army Medical College, Comilla Army Medical College and Bogra Army Medical College.

The Prime Minister inaugurated the academic activities of these public medical colleges through a videoconferencing from her official Ganobhaban residence here this morning.

Health Minister Mohammad Nasim delivered the welcome address, while Health Secretary Syed Manjurul Islam conducted the function.

State Minister for Health Jahid Malek, Chief of Army Staff General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan. Senior Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office Md Abul Kalam Azad and Press Secretary AKM Shameem Chowdhuri were present on the occasion, among others.

With the launching of 11 newly-established public medical colleges, the number of medical colleges at the public sector rose to 38.

The Prime Minister also said that the officials concerned will have to be vigil about the academic activities, curriculum and other related matters of the medical colleges of the country.

"Physicians who will come out of these medical colleges will have to be good doctors. You will have to monitor these colleges intensively and make sure that physicians who will pass from these colleges don't turn into patient-killing doctors," she said.

Noting that providing medicare services to the people is a noble profession, the Prime Minister urged the physicians of the country to extend their hands with real mentality of serving the people.

"The aim of the doctors should be serving the people, not only earning money or building up their own fate," she said.

Terming healthcare services as a basic right of the people, Sheikh Hasina said it cannot happen in an independent Bangladesh that the people would suffer from the dearth of medicare facilities and medicines.

Regretting that the country's health sector was neglected for a long time, she said after assuming office after 21 years, the Awami League government took steps to reach the healthcare facilities to the doorsteps of the people.

"To achieve the goal, we had taken initiative to set up a community clinic for every 6,000 people of the country," she said, adding 11,000 such community clinics were set up during the previous tenure of the Awami League government from 1996-2001.

She said after coming to power, the BNP-Jamaat alliance government closed all the community clinics for political vengeance. "But after assuming office in 2009, the Awami League government resumed the operation of the closed community clinics," she said, mentioning that the people are getting 30 types of medicines from these community clinics.

Spelling out her government's various steps for the development of the health sector to fulfill the basic right of the people, Sheikh Hasina said her government first established a medical university in the country to create efficient doctors.

She mentioned that her government has taken initiatives to establish a medical university in every divisional headquarters to create skilled doctors in the country. "The work on setting up two new medical universities - one in Chittagong and another in Rajshahi---is going on in full swing," she said.

In this connection, Sheikh Hasina also mentioned that the government has taken measures to set up a university in every district so that the students can receive higher education sitting on their own houses. "It would also create employment for the people," she said.

Congratulating the students, teachers and guardians, the Prime Minister hoped that the new medical colleges would play an effective role in creating efficient doctors as country has a huge demand of physicians.

"These colleges would help reduce pressure on the doctors in future when new physicians will come out successfully of these colleges," she said.

Paying rich tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his Homecoming Day, the Prime Minister said Bangabandhu had incorporated the basic rights of the people like healthcare in the holy constitution to reach the fruits of independence to the people.

"But, the country moved far away from the spirit of the War of Liberation and the people of the country were deprived of their basic rights after brutal assassination of the Father of the Nation in 1975," she said.

The Prime Minister also talked to ministers, public representatives and senior army officials of the respective districts and regions through videoconferencing.

During the time, she assured of fulfilling various demands of respective regions including establishment of a full-fledged university in Jamalpur.

Sheikh Hasina also announced that the government has a plan to increase another administrative division in the country apart from the existing seven.

"We have a plan to increase one more division in the country," she said.

The Prime Minister said she works for the whole country as she is the Prime Minister of entire Bangladesh. "No matter who give what to me? My aim is to develop entire Bangladesh," she said.

Sheikh Hasina hoped that Bangladesh would be a middle income country by 2021 and a developed and most prosperous nation in South Asia by 2041. "The Bangalee nation would advance further by keeping its head high," she asserted.

While talking to the public representatives of Rangamati, the Prime Minister said her government restored peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region by signing the CHT Peace Accord.

"Most of the clauses of the CHT treaty have been implemented and we would execute the rest Insha Allah," she said.