Parliamentary body recommends dope test for university admission
Many countries have already introduced dope test in the university admission process, as a result of which the tendency to addiction has decreased
A parliamentary body on Sunday recommended introducing dope test in university admission process. The initiative has been taken in the wake of the rising number of addicted young people across the country.
The recommendation was made at a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Shamsul Haque Tuku, president of the Parliamentary Standing Committee, told The Business Standard, "We want this special health test to give young people a clear message that if they get addicted, they will not be allowed to get higher education."
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Referring to the introduction of dope test for admission in the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Tuku said that the government have taken a multidimensional approach to combat drug addiction.
"We must take necessary steps to uproot drug addiction from our society," said Tuku.
Dr Arup Ratan Chowdhury, founder president of the Association for the Prevention of Drug Abuse, told The Business Standard that at least 7.5 lakh people are addicted to drugs in Bangladesh.
"Most of the people get addicted when they are teenagers. If they are made aware of the consequences of the addiction, they will be saved from the curse of drugs," said Arup Ratan.
He said no survey has been conducted to assess the actual number of addicted students in our universities.
"Many countries have already introduced dope test in the university admission process, as a result of which the tendency to addiction has decreased. I think, if we take similar initiatives, the number of addicted people will definitely decrease here," said Arup Ratan.
Kazi Shahidullah, chairman of The University Grants Commission, told The Business Standard that they will sit with all the vice-chancellors of the private and public universities to discuss the matter very soon.
"We will try to introduce dope test in the university admission process next year. But I do not feel good about the term 'dope test'. We will introduce the test with a different name," said Kazi Shahidullah.
Last year, the government made dope test mandatory for joining government jobs. But now no health test is required for getting admitted to universities in Bangladesh.
