BMCRI likely to lose 100 undergraduate medical seats in new academic year

MCI team finds infrastructure inadequate at premier institute

The Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) is likely to lose 100 medical undergraduate seats in the coming academic year following directions from the Medical Council of India (MCI).

Minister of State for Medical Education Sharan Prakash Patil told The Hindu in Gulbarga city on Wednesday that the main reason for the MCI not permitting intake of 100 seats, which were enhanced last year, was the non-fulfilment of infrastructure facilities, particularly the number of buildings.

“We have already initiated measures to take up the construction of the buildings as required by the MCI, and tenders have been floated,” the Minister said. Dr. Patil was confident that the MCI would reconsider its decision and concede to the appeal made by the State government that all its conditions would be fulfilled within the stipulated time.

Other government medical colleges in the State have no such problem, and all the seats which were sanctioned by the MCI are intact.

Answering a query, he said the MCI team had already visited the facilities of one of the proposed new colleges — the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chamarajanagar. The team had expressed satisfaction with the facilities, except for the filling up of the teaching staff required for the hospital.

Dr. Patil said the vacancies in teaching staff could not be filled due to the election code of conduct. Now that it would be lifted, the posts would be filled up.

The MCI team is likely to visit the other five new medical colleges proposed at Gulbarga, Gadag, Koppal, Karwar and Kodagu.

To a question, Dr. Patil said the government had proposed admitting 150 students each in the first year in all the six medical colleges. There has been a considerable increase in postgraduate seats in different disciplines of medicine in the government quota. Last year, the intake to postgraduate courses was around 500; this year it will go up to 618.

More transparency

Dr. Patil said to introduce transparency in examinations and counselling for admissions to postgraduate courses, the government has asked the National Board of Examination to conduct the entrance exam and the Karnataka Education Authority (KEA) will conduct the counselling online for the first time.