The New Nation - Internet Edition

Barisal Correspondent

Education of students and treatment of patients at the Barisal Sher -E- Bangla Medical College and Hospital are being seriously hampered for a long time due to shortage of teachers..

Already five out of total 32 departments of the college have been closed down in the absence of teachers and six other departments are likely to meet the same fate soon, college sources said.

The departments which have been shut down for want of want of teachers are physical medicine, dentistry, urology, psychiatry and metabolic.

The departments facing closure for lack of teachers include forensic medicine, radiology, nephrology, plastic surgery and blood transfusion. These departments have been facing dearth of teachers for long. Some of professors and assistant professors of these department often remain absent from duties for mysterious reasons and some others are away from the college with long leave, the sources added.

In the absence of professors, associate professors and assistant professors these departments are often run by junior doctors. As a result, students are being deprived of proper of education.

Besides, seven other departments have been limping in the absence of required number of teachers. Classes in each of these departments are now conducted by a single teacher. Moreover eleven other departments have only two teachers each at the moment.

When contacted, Dr Zahid Hossain, principal of the colleges, admitted the shortage of teachers in almost all departments. He said he informed the higher authorities time and again about the shortage of teachers in most of the departments , but to no avail. The sources further said that SBMC has been accredited to impart post graduation level education. But it has not yet been possible to start post graduate courses for lack of senior level teachers.

Proper treatment of a large number of patients suffering from various diseases is also facing setback in the absence of professors and associate professor in many important departments. The poor patients are the worst sufferers as they can not afford to spend sufficient money for better treatment at private clinics, according to the sources.