Only three, out of 18 seats for admission in the government medical colleges under the Saarc quota, have been recommended on merit basis and the rest on 'request of dignitaries' from home and abroad, officials said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has strongly opposed the decision of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and requested the latter to follow merit list in admission of these foreign students in case of vacant seats under the quota.
According to officials, some 89 seats in Bangladesh's government medical colleges are reserved for students from Saarc member-countries for 2015-16 session in MBBS course.
Some 80 students from different countries have already been admitted on merit basis while nine remained vacant until now. Health Minister Mohammed Nasim this year raised the number of seats by 10 per cent to 98 using his discretionary power. As a result, the number of vacant seats stood at 18.
Some documents available with the FE show the MoHFW has decided that out of 18 seats only three will get admission on merit basis while the rest 15 will be admitted on requests made by dignitaries from India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Of the dignitaries, three are former Prime Ministers of Nepal, two are Indian parliamentarians, and ten have been recommended by present and former Bangladesh ministers.
However, the MoFA is of the opinion that at least nine seats should be on merit basis, and the nine seats created on Mr Nasim's discretionary power can be fulfilled on recommendations made by dignitaries from India and Nepal, not from Bangladesh.
MoFA director ATM Abdur Rouf Mondol in a letter to the MoHFW said only merit should get priority in case of admission of foreign students instead of considering other factors.
He said recommendations of dignitaries from India and Nepal, which came through diplomatic channels, can be taken into consideration as those influential people can be used for the interest of Bangladesh.
Mr Mondol told the FE the MoFA wants that rules and regulations should be followed in case of admission of foreign students.
"The two ministries hold different opinions since the rules are not followed in this case."
He said request from Dhaka-based dignitaries are getting preference in this case instead of dignitaries from India and Nepal. The recommendation that came through diplomatic channels is not given importance which is not acceptable to the MoFA, he added.
Sources said an Indian citizen and another from Nepal recently sent e-mails to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in Dhaka and to several ministries saying that vested quarters are involved in the admission of students under the Saarc quota.
They requested the government to ensure transparency in case of admission of foreign students.
Health Minister Mr Nasim and secretary Syed Monjurul Islam could not be reached for comments despite several attempts. Mr Nasim received phone calls several times but disconnected it when he found the call came from a media outlet.
Director (medical education) of the Directorate General of Health Services Dr Abdur Rashid told the FE that foreign students got admission on merit basis in the first phase. The issue of honouring requests from foreign dignitaries is now being considered while fulfilling the vacant seats.
He admitted that he also heard about involvement of vested quarters in the admission process of foreign students. "But none gave me proof of involvement of any such quarters."
Mr Rashid, however, did not make any comment on allegation of a move to give admission of students on request from several Bangladesh ministers.
The principal of a public medical college seeking anonymity told the FE everyone wants meritorious students to get admission in MBBS course. He said the government sometimes honours requests from foreign dignitaries for the sake of bilateral relations.
When contacted, MoHFW additional secretary Nasir Arif Mahmud told the FE the government always gives preference to merit of students in case of admission in MBBS course.
"Sometimes we have to honour requests of foreign dignitaries on special arrangement," he said.
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