Even as the Congress-led State Government’s ambitious plan to have one medical college for each district is yet to take concrete shape, the Medical Council of India (MCI) is calling it a welcome move.
Vedprakash Mishra, Chairman of the MCI’s Academic Cell, said “public sector” colleges were a must. Dr. Mishra, who was in the city on Monday to deliver the Dr. S. Kantha Endowment Lecture during the 18th Foundation Day of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), had earlier spoken about shrinking public capital. “Nearly 85 per cent of colleges are in the private sector. Public sector financing for medical colleges is dwindling. Owing to this, the concept of equity and accessibility is lost,” he said in the lecture.
The Karnataka government announced establishment of six new medical colleges in Gulbarga, Koppal, Chamarajanagar, Karwar, Madikeri and Gadag with an intake of 150 each.
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Though the government expects to open these for admissions for the year 2014-15, they are yet to get the approval of the MCI.
The government has also announced more medical colleges in Tumkur, Chitradurga, Chickballapur, Bagalkot, Haveri and Yadgir for the academic year 2015-16.
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Asked about the approval process, Dr. Mishra said the process of the MCI was “scheduled, loud and clear and mathematically precise.”