Students of the Medical Assistant Training Schools (MATS) have blockaded Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka, pressing for four key demands, including immediate recruitment to vacant posts of sub-assistant community medical Officers and enhanced opportunities for higher education.
The demonstrators have declared they will not vacate the area unless the government announces acceptance of their demands.
The protest commenced around 11am on Sunday (9 February), following a gathering in Farmgate from where the students marched towards Shahbagh.
Ahmadullah Mansur, Central Coordinator of the General MATS Students' Unity Council, stated, "Despite the revolutionary spirit of July’s movement to build a discrimination-free Bangladesh, the longstanding disparities faced by MATS students remain unresolved. On 22 January, during a mass assembly at Shahbagh, the Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare provided a written commitment to meet our demands within seven working days. However, even after the deadline, no visible progress has been made."
Mansur further added, "Given the Ministry and relevant departments' lack of sincere action, we have been compelled to initiate this protest. The responsibility for today’s movement lies squarely with the Ministry of Health, the Directorate General of Health Services, the Directorate of Medical Education, the Directorate of Family Planning, and the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council."
Currently, 16 government and approximately 200 private MATS institutions operate diploma medical degree (DMA) programmes across the country. According to the Bangladesh Education Statistics 2022 and the latest data from the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC), there are around 60,000 diploma medical students nationwide, with approximately 30,000 registered DMFs.
Data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reveals that nearly 5,500 diploma medical professionals are employed as Sub-Assistant Community Medical Officers in Upazila Health Complexes, Union Sub-Health Centres, Union Health and Family Welfare Centres, and district hospitals.
MATS students assert that around 50,000 skilled graduates remain unemployed after completing their diploma medical courses.
They claim that recruitment has been stalled for over a decade under the pretext of amending recruitment regulations, effectively halting the hiring process.
Meanwhile, there are 2,500 vacant posts for Sub-Assistant Community Medical Officers within the Health and Family Planning Division. This dual crisis has deprived marginalised communities of essential healthcare services while simultaneously escalating the number of unemployed MATS graduates.
