Punjab awaits Medical College in Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur

Punjab- Even after submitting a proposal to establish two medical colleges by upgrading two district hospitals in Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur of Punjab, no work has yet started to upgrade the hospitals.

During the first budget session in 2022-23, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had proposed to establish 16 new medical colleges in Punjab over the five years of their tenure. But, even after two years of governance, no progress has been made toward the establishment of any new medical colleges in the state, reports HT.

On this, according to the experts, considering the infrastructural and faculty requirements of the National Medical Commission (NMC), it will be impossible to start a new government medical college in Punjab before 2026.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Hoshiarpur deputy commissioner Komal Mittal said, “We have floated the tender for the fourth time to upgrade the district hospital by relaxing some of the stipulated norms. With the election code of conduct coming into force, the tender will be awarded after a few months”.

Similarly, Kapurthala DC Amit Kumar Panchal also said, "They had already floated tenders four times, but it hadn’t been materialised so far. Notably, every year, any state government has to apply for a new medical college by October to the NMC to start medical college for the next session. As no tender could be finalised in the coming months because of the election code of conduct in place, it seems impossible for the government to complete all the requirements and apply for the new medical college to the NMC by October”.

The minimum requirements for setting up a new medical college are that the number of hospital beds required for 100 admissions annually is 500, the minimum teaching faculty is 85 and providing hostel accommodation for at least 75% of the total student intake at the college or institute

A senior official of the Medical Education Department also mentioned "Considering the present situation, we will not be able to apply for new medical college this year too”.