GPA marks required for medical admission may be reduced

The GPA requirements for applications to government and private medical and dental colleges in the country may be lowered. Such a decision could be taken considering the ground realities. The final decision on this matter may be made at a meeting of the Health Education and Family Welfare Ministry scheduled for next week.

Sources from the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) and the Directorate General of Health Education informed that the results of this year's HSC and equivalent examinations have been published in light of reality. This time, merit has been valued over numbers. As a result, both the overall GPA-5 rate and pass rate have decreased. In this situation, the GPA conditions in SSC and HSC for medical and dental admission applications may be slightly relaxed.

On condition of anonymity, an official from the Directorate General of Health Education told The Daily Campus, "This year, those who got GPA-4 are considered better than last year's GPA-4.5 holders. And those who got GPA-4.5 are seen as better than last year's GPA-5 students. Therefore, the GPA requirements for medical and dental admission applications may be reduced. In this regard, a student's combined SSC and HSC GPA may be lowered from 9 to 8. However, the matter will be finalised at the ministry's meeting next week."

When contacted on this issue, BMDC Chairman Professor Saiful Islam told The Daily Campus, "There has been a demand to reduce the GPA numbers in medical and dental admission applications. The issue will be discussed with everyone at the upcoming meeting in the ministry and finalised."