Staff Correspondent, Dhaka
A group of medical technology and pharmacy students held a sit-in with six demands, including the formation of an independent directorate, on Thursday in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka.
The protesters said that to make healthcare people-oriented, ensuring the rights of all personnel involved in healthcare services is essential.
An inclusive management system must be established by guaranteeing professional security and rights for doctors, nurses, medical technologists, and other health workers, they added.
The six demands of the group are as follows:
1) Establish an independent directorate.
2) Grant diploma holders in 10th grade (second-class gazette) rank and create positions proportionally per World Health Organization guidelines, along with resuming the 2013 recruitment process on a priority basis.
3) Create 9th-grade positions for graduate medical technologists and pharmacists, ensure proportional promotions for employees, and include them in standard setups, recruitment rules, and the Health Protection Act.
4) Transform Dhaka IHT into a university named "Bangladesh University of Medical Science and Technology," and revise the current recruitment rules and inconsistent grades by forming a distinct career plan for medical technologist and pharmacist teachers in all IHTs.
5) Form a medical technology council for professional licensing, establish a diploma medical education board, and draft a private service policy.
6) Launch BSc and MSc courses for all faculties, including B Pharm, and introduce scholarships and training allowances.
They warned that if these six demands are not implemented within three working days, they will start a program from Monday.
