Ailing medical education
Medical education in the country has virtually broken down due to shortage of teachers and lack of adequate physical infrastructure, according to a report by a leading Bangla newspaper. Most of the 105 public and private medical colleges are running with less than half the teaching staff required. Some of these do not even have proper classrooms, examination halls, medical skill centres and tutorial rooms. Libraries are small and contain few books. What kind of doctors can these institutions produce?
One does not have to be a rocket scientist to see a correlation between the dismal state of the country's healthcare system and the quality of education medical students are receiving. But it is unclear how so many—69 to be exact—private colleges have received approval from the authorities despite a 2014 objection by the Bangladesh Medical Association. Whose interests do the authorities serve - the ordinary people or those who set up such poorly equipped medical colleges, apparently, for profit alone? The public ones, on the other hand, are no angels. Reports of wrong diagnosis, maltreatment and harassment are frequent. It is thus not surprising at all that a large number of affluent patients go abroad for treatment. Who's got the poor man's back?
Healthcare is a fundamental right and the state seems to be failing in delivering it to citizens. In order to address the problem, the government should monitor and evaluate the performance of all medical colleges and ensure their compliance with the rules and regulations.
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