Let new Medical Colleges come up

The stagnation in the field of medical education became apparent when many medical students, including Malayalis, returned home from Ukraine in the aftermath of the war. For the last few years, the government has not been coming forward to start new medical colleges. One reason for this might be the fact that it was not able to lead the existing medical colleges in the right way. Nowadays, children and parents are struggling to get a medical seat. There are only 4100 MBBS seats in the state. But the demand for medical seats is manifold the number of seats. Earlier, those with cash were able to buy medical seats in other states. However, with the advent of the Unified Entrance Test, such kind of admission has ceased to exist. While several students are forced to back off from medical studies due to the inability to pay high fees, there are still loopholes for obtaining a medical seat by paying higher fees. Those who are unable to pay exorbitant fees seek admission to foreign universities. This is why a large number of Indian students started going to universities in China, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and New Zealand to study medicine.

Initially, the Medical Board had stated that a hospital should have 25 acres of land to set up a medical college. Later, this requirement was reduced to 10 acres. Now the Medical Council has come up stating that five acres of land were required to set up a medical college.

Given the large number of students seeking medical courses, the new relaxation in the conditions for starting a college will surely help Kerala. The self-financing sector should come forward to take advantage of this opportunity. The government does not have to stand aside. We had written about this topic in this column. There is potential for several medical colleges in the state, including those of the government.

The approach of the government should be to provide maximum assistance to the individuals and institutions who come forward to start a private medical college. It is the responsibility of the Department of Medical Education and the government to ensure that the colleges thus established are functioning well. No institution can charge exorbitant fees as the task of determining fees is still vested in the government. The risk of tampering and irregularities is very low as there is strong guidance from the Medical Council on admission as well.

The University of Health Sciences is preparing to invite applications, perhaps because it is convinced that new medical colleges are essential. Approval of the Medical Commission can be obtained only with the permission of the state government and the University of Health Sciences. There are many large institutions in the state working in the field of health. Hospitals with adequate infrastructure can enter this field. The government should provide the necessary help for this. The new medical colleges will also be of great benefit to the children of the common man.