Rural medical doctor cadre

   People in Bangladesh have been deprived of adequate medical services, especially in rural areas, because of a dearth of qualified doctors. Most graduate and post-graduate doctors seem reluctant to work in rural health centers. Sometimes, even after accepting government jobs, under the prevailing salary structure, some doctors make most of the limitations in administrative rules, regulations and orders, and stay away from their posting in rural health centers. Most of these truant doctors are either members of the doctors' association or have links with it . Suffice it to say, the association is invariably led by pro-government faction of doctors, who generally behave like unruly union leaders. They exert pressure on the government so as to remain above and beyond service rules and regulations, office orders.
     Meanwhile, many students at secondary and higher secondary levels seem to be losing interest in science subjects. It is the age of professionalism. After studying science subjects, students get very limited scope to pursue further studies in these disciplines. Setting up of more medical collages can encourage students to study science subjects at secondary and higher secondary levels. The elected government is committed to providing health services in rural as well as urban areas. But it is proving increasingly difficult to keep the doctors in rural areas. To address this problem, it is necessary to set up and run 64 medical collages in 64 districts to impart undergraduate medical courses and create a rural medical doctor cadre. Students who will successfully come out of such collages should be recruited by the government. The government has to create adequate number of posts for doctors at union and upazila government healthcare centres and hospitals.
       Seven medical collages can be set up and run at seven divisional cities for those doctors who desire to study  postgraduate medical courses. The scope for higher studies needs to be created. Bangladesh has enough teachers to impart medical courses at undergraduate and graduate levels . It is a great advantage. We need to utilise this opportunity . We only need to invest a large sum of money to set up and run these collages. Therefore, the elected government needs to take a comprehensive plan to set up undergraduate medical collage in each district to impart undergraduate medical courses and set up and run postgraduate medical colleges in each divisional city to impart higher medical courses.