HC clears way for medical admission tests on April 2

The High Court yesterday cleared the way for holding admission tests for MBBS enrolment on April 2.

The court rejected a writ petition that sought its directive on the authorities concerned to defer the admission test date due to sharp rise in Covid-19 infections.

The bench of Justices Md Khasruzzaman and Md Mahmud Hassan Talukder passed the rejection order considering that the petition was not placed properly before it.

During the petition hearing, the court refused to pass any deferment order on the petition after Deputy Attorney General Bipul Bagmar told the court that the authorities have taken all preparations for conducting the admission test on April 2 with strict maintenance of health guidelines.

Writ petitioner's lawyer Muntasir Mahmud Rahman told The Daily Star that there is no legal bar for holding MBBS admission test following the HC order.

Md Taymur Khan Bappi, a citizen from Jhalakathi, submitted the petition as public interest litigation to the HC on March 21.

He sought HC order to hold the MBBS admission examination in line with the admission test of other universities once the pandemic situation gets better.

Meanwhile yesterday, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said MBBS admission test will be taken in compliance with the health guidelines.

"Examinees will be seated three feet apart from each other. Everyone has to wear a mask and there will be sanitisers," he said while talking to reporters after a meeting on the medical admission test at the Health Ministry's conference room.

He said around 1.22 lakh students will sit for this year's exam at 55 centres on April 2.

Number of test centres will be increased if needed, he said.

The minister also said, "Coaching centres will remain closed and no photocopy machine will be allowed in the vicinity of the exam centres."

"We have set up a monitoring cell. If there is any problem, the cell can be contacted. There will also be magistrates at the examination centres and they will look after the overall issues," the minister added.

He said that the government will be vigilant against any type of rumours during and after the exam and also reassured that question papers will not be leaked this year.