The government has taken a move for legal action against medical colleges, dental colleges and other medical institutions which have come up without the approval of relevant authorities. Educational institutions of higher learning have been operating successfully in the private sector and anyone competent to run such an institution could always make use of the provision for it by duly registering with the government.

The plain truth is that a section of people found It convenient to open educational shops' cashing in on the mad rush of students for higher education. But they are clearly violating the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council Ordinance, 1980. This is a punishable offence but not quite adequately so. It should be more stringent than a two-year Jail term with fine. However, it is good to know that the authority is processing legal cases against the organisers of spurious educational outfits.

Application of the relevant ordinance can be only a limited deterrent against the freewheeling commercialisation of technical education which is in high demand. In this particular context, the parents must be prepared to use their judgment for being discriminatory and quality conscious in the choice of their wards' educational institutions.