Government to recruit 5,000 doctors, annual expenditure to be Tk 288 crore

The government has taken a new initiative to recruit 5,000 physicians to reduce the manpower shortage in the country's public healthcare services. Among these, there is a plan to recruit 4,700 assistant surgeons or medical officers and another 300 assistant dental surgeons.

The government will spend approximately 288 crore Tk annually on the salaries and allowances of the new recruits.

How many recruits for each position?

Out of the proposed 5,000 positions—

• 4,700 assistant surgeons/medical officers
• 300 assistant dental surgeons

It is expected that once the recruitment is completed, the shortage of doctors in government hospitals and health institutions will decrease slightly.

Why is this initiative being taken?

There have been long-standing vacancies for various healthcare workers, including doctors, in government hospitals. Due to the manpower shortage, doctors in many government hospitals have to perform additional duties to manage the patient load.

In this situation, the initiative to recruit new doctors has been taken with the aim of filling these vacancies and making public healthcare services more effective for the general public.

Previously, in the budget announcement for the 2026-27 fiscal year, the government had also mentioned a plan to recruit 5,000 MBBS doctors and an additional 1 lakh healthcare workers.

Plan to recruit one lakh healthcare workers also exists

Alongside doctors, measures have been taken to recruit an additional 1 lakh healthcare workers across the country. It was also mentioned in the budget speech that approximately 80 percent of these positions are planned to be filled by women.

Initiatives are also being taken to increase opportunities for nursing and midwifery education in the health sector, develop professional skills, and introduce new types of training.

Changes are coming to medical education

In addition to increasing the number of doctors, there are plans for changes in their training and education system. Initiatives have been taken to incorporate modern clinical education, integrated modular methods, and the use of artificial intelligence-based medical technology into the new MBBS curriculum.

If the government's plans are implemented, it will reduce the doctor shortage in public health institutions on one hand, and on the other, create opportunities to make medical services more accessible to the general public in various regions of the country.