Telangana’s medical education set to enter new phase

Except for Telangana, no other Indian State has established nine medical colleges and received permission to roll out 900 MBBS seats in a single academic year (2023-24)

Hyderabad: Medical education in Telangana will enter a new phase on Friday with the inauguration of nine new medical colleges on a single day by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao.

The new medical colleges, along with upgraded district hospitals, will not only elevate medical education and tertiary healthcare in districts, but will also pave the way for Telangana to become the first Indian State to have established government medical colleges in all its districts.

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Except for Telangana, no other Indian State has established nine medical colleges and received permission to roll out 900 MBBS seats in a single academic year (2023-24). In the process, it secured 43 per cent of all government MBBS seats, which received permission across India from the National Medical Commission (NMC).

This year, a total of 2,118 medical seats received NMC permission, of which 900 were added in Telangana. The seat allotment and formalities related to students reporting at new campuses in Kamareddy, Karimnagar, Khammam, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Asifabad, Nirmal, Rajanna Sircilla, Vikarabad and Jangaon have been completed.

8 more in next academic year

Works are already under way to start eight more government medical colleges and the attached district hospitals by next academic year 2024-25 in Jogulamba Gadwal, Narayanpet, Mulugu, Warangal, Medak, Yadadri Bhongir, Rangareddy and Medchal Malkajgiri.

“It is the vision of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao to transform Telangana into Arogya Telangana. We will be the first State to establish government medical colleges in all districts, which will foster more opportunities for students to pursue medical education and further enhance healthcare services,” says Health Minister T Harish Rao.

BJP’s bizarre claims about colleges

While the Telangana government was running against time to complete the construction of 9 medical colleges, upgrade the attached district hospitals, recruit teaching faculty and get them ready for NMC inspection, the BJP-led union Government at the centre was busy making outright lies and bizarre claims about its non-existent role in getting medical colleges sanctioned and funded for Telangana.

On several occasions, last year and even this year, the BJP-led union Government kept making deceitful lies by claiming that it established and even funded the medical colleges in Telangana.

Till date, the BJP-led union Government has not allotted or funded a single medical college under its Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) titled ‘Establishment of new Medical Colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals. And yet, it quite shamelessly keeps lying and spreading confusion through misinformation by claiming that it has established medical colleges.

To put the record straight, the Telangana Government incurred an expenditure of over Rs 4, 500 crore (each medical college developed with a cost of over Rs 400 crore) to develop 9 medical colleges. The fact also remains that it was the NMC that recognized the 9 medical colleges and not the union Government.