No nod for four new colleges to start MBBS admissions this year

No nod for four new colleges to start MBBS admissions this year

Sunitha.Rao@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: 17.11.2021 

In a blow to the state, the new medical colleges in Chikkamagaluru, Haveri, Yadgir and Chikkaballapur are unlikely to begin academic operations this year as the National Medical Commission (NMC) has turned down requisitions for 150 undergraduate seats each from 2021-22, official sources said.

An NMC team recently inspected these colleges and objected to the lack of buildings. Staff recruitment was also still ongoing.

“If not for the pandemic, we would have completed the process of appointing staff in all four colleges,” a source in the medical education department said. “Construction work also took a beating because of the pandemic. However, it’s now taking place at a fast pace in Chikkaballapur and Chikkamagaluru.”

Sources said the NMC objected to the plan to begin operations from a private building. A team from Delhi inspected the colleges in August 2021. In October, a video conference was held with the heads of the medical colleges to review progress.

However, in the first week of this month, NMC, in official communication, shot down approval to start the first MBBS batch in all four colleges. Medical education minister K Sudhakar was unavailable for comment.

“However, in the past, some colleges that received communication denying approval were given the goahead by the end of the mopup round of UG medical counselling,” the source said. “The recruitment process is likely to be over by December, and we will once again approach the NMC. If staff recruitment is complete and the required equipment, hostel and other infrastructure are in place, the NMC may approve two of the four colleges this year.”

Currently there are 8,900 UG medical seats in Karnataka and it would have gone up to 9,500 if the 600 seats were approved. Of the available UG medical sets, 2,900 are in government colleges.

“We are confident the seats in Chikkamagaluru and Chikkaballapur will be approved since most staff have been recruited,” said Dr Jayakara SM, vice chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences. Should that happen, the state will get 300 more seats for 2021-22.

In 2019, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College and Research Institute (Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College and Research Institute) was granted approval and the first batch began from 2019-20.

While seeking approval for the fresh batch in 2020, the government had written to the Centre saying the new medical college was needed to reduce the doctor-patient ratio of 1:10260 in Karnataka. As per the World Health Organisation, there must be one doctor for every 1,000 population.

“NMC looks at three primary factors while considering approval: The college must have the required infrastructure, faculty and a medical college hospital. In all the four new medical colleges, these factors are in the preliminary stage as all work was halted during the pandemic,” said sources.

In four new medical colleges, the government had made alternative arrangements to begin the course near district hospitals. “In Chikkamagaluru, the land allocated for the college was in a forest area and it required clearances from the forest department. In Yadgir, construction began in January and that may take some more time,” said officials.