TUHIN SHUBHRA ADHIKARY

Bangladesh has formally begun the accreditation process for medical education, with the Bangladesh Medical Education Accreditation Council (BMEAC) accrediting two government medical colleges for the first time to ensure quality education.

The statutory body has accredited the MBBS programmes of Dhaka Medical College and Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College after the institutions met BMEAC standards, officials said.

BMEAC sent letters to the two colleges on January 12 informing them of the decision, BMEAC Registrar Prof Humayun Kabir Talukder told The Daily Star yesterday, describing the move as a milestone in improving and standardising medical education in the country.

BMEAC will formally issue accreditation certificates to the colleges for a period of five years soon, said Prof Humayun, adding that they granted the accreditation following the standard set by the World Federation for Medical Education for medical education.

The development comes at a time when over 100 public and private medical colleges provide medical education in the country, but the quality of education at many institutions has been questioned due to shortages of manpower, infrastructure, equipment and other facilities.

Against this backdrop, the health ministry has cut 572 seats in government and private medical colleges for the 2025–26 academic session, citing inadequate infrastructure, manpower, hospital facilities and other shortcomings.

The accreditation council was established in April 2024 under the Bangladesh Medical Education Accreditation Act 2023 and was reconstituted in October following the change of government in August that year.

Prof Humayun said the council follows a rigorous process to grant accreditation to medical colleges.

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