E-Paper
No new government medical college in Punjab this year too
Work to upgrade Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala hospitals hasn’t started yet; the state government had in 2022 announced that it would open 16 such colleges in five years
In what could be a setback for MBBS aspirants in the state, the state wouldn’t be able to apply for any new government medical college this year also. The National Medical Commission (NMC), the apex medical education body in the country, has already invited applications for new medical colleges intending to start undergraduate (UG) courses in the academic year 2026–27. The deadline is January 28.
Though the government was mulling applying for the two proposed government medical colleges — Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala, the upgrade process hasn’t been commenced so far. As a result, Punjab will not get any new government medical college before 2027.
Confirming the development, a senior official of the Punjab medical education department, requesting anonymity, said, “The department is not applying for any new government medical college this year as we don’t have the essential certificate. It will take eight to 10 months to fulfill the NMC requirement to apply for a new medical college.”
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, in its first budget (2022), had announced plans to open 16 medical colleges in its five-year tenure. Every year, a large number of students from Punjab go abroad for MBBS.
Currently, there are only four state-run medical colleges in Punjab against seven private ones having nearly 60% of the total MBBS seats in the state. Dr BR Ambedkar State Institute of Medical Sciences in Mohali was the last government medical college in Punjab which was started in 2021 under the previous Congress government. The said medical college in Mohali had come up after a gap of 48 years.
Confirming the hurdles in applying for new colleges, a senior official said, “There was a delay in awarding tender for upgradation of district hospitals in Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala due to some issues. We are looking for other options to start a medical college.”
Notably, the department will have to fulfil a long list of NMC requirements, such as hiring a minimum teaching faculty of 85 for 100 MBBS seats before applying for a new medical college.
Meanwhile, Punjab health minister Dr Balbir Singh said four to five medical colleges, including three government colleges, were in proposal.
When asked about the proposed government medical colleges in Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur, Dr Balbir Singh said, “Tender for upgrade of the Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur hospitals will open by the end of this month. Thereafter, work will start. Besides these two colleges, we have got land clearance from Punjab Waqf Board to establish a college in Malerkotla.”
Congress slams AAP
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said the AAP government had failed to establish even a single government medical college so far. He said the government focussed only on advertising.
