St John’s Medical College, Bangalore, is all set to celebrate its golden jubilee this year with a series of events from August 7.
Governor H.D. Bhardwaj will inaugurate the celebrations on August 11 and dedicate four newly-built buildings. N.R. Narayana Murthy, executive chairman, Infosys, will be the guest honour at a function on August 9.
Rev. Lawrence D’souza, Director, St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, told presspersons here on Saturday that a decision had been taken to increase the student intake for MBBS course from 60 to 150 from the next academic year.
“We will submit a proposal to the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) by this year end and Medical Council of India is expected to inspect availabilities facilities in February,” he said.
The main reason for increasing MBBS seats is to fully utilise the teaching material and infrastructure available on the campus, Dr. D’souza said.
e-library
The college would also open a new e-library and establish a clinical skill laboratory to meet the basic and highly advanced training requirements of students and faculty.
Started in 1963 by the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India, St. John’s Medical College has grown to be listed as one of the top medical educational institutions in the country.
The college has a two-year compulsory rural service bond for its students from 1973.
“About 25 of students are permanently working in remote areas, and are committed to addressing the desperate health needs of these unreached rural populations,” he said.
The present college building came up in 1968 and was inaugurated by Zakir Hussain, the former president of India.
The college receive students from various parts of the globe and recently it has received the Singh-Obama Award.
Dr. D’souza said 1,500 alumni from across the world are attending the golden jubilee celebrations from August 7 to 11 and various cultural and sporting events.
Prem Pais, Dean, said that the college has 1,250-bed teaching hospital and nearly 2500 patients receive treatment daily. About 1,800 surgeries are conducted a year.
To mark the occasion, the college would dedicate renovated students’ dining hall, auditorium, St John’s Oncology Centre, and Unit of Hope (for treatment of children with disabilities).
