Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said that medical coaching centres across the country will be closed from 9 January, a month before the day set for medical admission test.
The decision was taken to avert question paper leaks and admission test forgery.
The admission test for the MBBS course in the country's government and private medical colleges for the academic year 2023-24 will be held on 9 February.
Meanwhile, the entry test for BDS courses in public and private dental colleges will be held on 8 March.
"Domestic students can apply online from 11-23 January. The application pool for foreign students will open on 4 January," The minister said during a press briefing on Sunday.
"This year the minimum passing marks in the medical admission test has been kept at 40," he noted, adding that 10 marks will be deducted if an examinee is taking the test for the second time.
Earlier 8 marks would be deducted for the second timers.
This was done so that those taking the exam for the first time do not feel deprived.
"Our country now has 1 lakh doctors, we need two to two and a half lakh. There is a need for quality improvement," The minister further said. The aspiring students will sit for the exam at 10am to vie for a total of 11,728 seats in government and private medical and dental colleges across the country.
Applicants have until 24 January to submit their application fees and the distribution of admit cards is scheduled for 5 February.