TUHIN SHUBHRA ADHIKARY

Enrolment of foreign students in Bangladesh’s private medical colleges has declined sharply over the past three years, raising concerns about the sector’s competitiveness and the country’s position as a destination for medical education.

Admissions of foreign students dropped to 1,098 in the 2025-26 academic session from 2,074 in 2022-23 -- a decline of nearly 50 percent, according to health ministry data.

The fall has been driven primarily by a decrease in the number of Indian students, who traditionally make up more than two-thirds of foreign students in Bangladesh’s private medical colleges, said officials and college owners, citing strains in Bangladesh-India ties following the 2024 political changeover.

Other contributing factors are a lack of international recognition of the country’s medical education accreditation system, a sharp reduction in fees at Indian private medical colleges, and an increase in admission capacity of medical colleges in India, they said.

Each of the 72 private medical colleges in Bangladesh is allowed to enrol foreign students up to 45 percent of its total seats.

In the 2025-26 session, 6,278 seats were available in these colleges, meaning they could admit more than 2,800 foreign students. However, they managed to enrol only 1,098 foreign students.

Public medical colleges have 125 seats reserved for students from SAARC countries and 99 seats for students from other countries. In the current session, 106 students enrolled from SAARC countries, while around 20 students, mostly from Palestine, were admitted under the “other regions” category.

REASONS BEHIND THE DECLINE

Prof Moazzem Hossain, general secretary of Bangladesh Medical College Association, identified two major reasons behind the decline: propaganda amid strained Bangladesh-India A Health In the

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