Students from Dhaka Medical College and Sir Salimullah Medical College gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar today to protest against the quota system in medical college admissions, specifically targeting the inclusion of children and grandchildren of freedom fighters.
Ferdous Ahmed Tabir, a student of Dhaka Medical College who was demonstrating, expressed concerns over the recent medical exam results, stating, "The medical exam results that were released yesterday showed that many ineligible students got admission due to quota. Many even got a chance in Dhaka Medical College.
All the students who got this quota should be immediately canceled, they should not be allowed to get admission in medical. Even in the upcoming admission exams, there should not be a quota for the children and grandchildren of freedom fighters. And we have taken to the streets demanding that the quota system be completely abolished in the coming years."
Over two hundred protesters gathered at the location as of 12:30pm, reports The Daily Star's senior photojournalist from the spot. They held placards with messages such as: "Take the news across the land! Put the quota system in the grave!" and "Medical [admission] results must be republished!"
The 2024-25 admission results, released yesterday, showed a pass rate of 45.62 percent. A total of 60,095 candidates passed the exam, competing for 5,380 available seats, including both government and private medical colleges. A total of 5,372 candidates have been selected for admission to 110 medical colleges, including 37 government colleges.
This year, including quota-based seats, the total number of seats in medical colleges is 5,380. Accordingly, 25 candidates competed for each seat in this year's MBBS entry test.
Source: The Daily Star