Parliament passes Medical Colleges Bill replacing ordinance

The Medical Colleges (Governing Bodies) (Repeal), Bill 2021 was passed in parliament on Wednesday, to ensure health care services and to make administration and management of the medical colleges more efficient.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque moved the bill and it was passed by voice vote.

The new law will abolish the Medical Colleges (Governing Bodies) Ordinance 1961.

As per the objective of the bill, the ordinance has no effect since some other laws have been enacted for medical education in Bangladesh.

However, several opposition lawmakers, including Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary, Mujibul Huq Chunnu, Kazi Firoz Rashid, Pir Fazlur Rahman and BNP lawmakers Harunur Rashid and Barrister Rumeen Farhana, demanded further public opinion in this regard.

Medical Degrees Bill passed too

The House on Wednesday also passed the Medical Degrees (Repeal) Bill, repealing the Medical Degrees Act 1916.

Health Minister Maleque moved the bill and it was passed by voice vote.

The proposed law will abolish the Medical Degrees Act 1916 as it became obsolete following the enactment of the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) Act 2010.

The Medical Degrees Act was actually used to determine everything regarding medical degrees and their standards.

But all the provisions of the act were incorporated in the BMDC Act 2010.