GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma attended the third convocation of Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences held at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra here on Monday where altogether 815 students were presented the degrees of commendation. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister said that establishment of Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences has given a new momentum to health education. He said, “Our ambitious plan to establish a cutting-edge health education ecosystem will ensure accessible healthcare and abundant job opportunities to create a New Health Economy. At the third convocation of the Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences we witnessed this transformative vision unfold”. The Chief Minister also said that in the last two decades, health education in the state has undergone a transformative change. Reminiscing his days when he was the Education Minister of the state, the Chief Minister said that there were only three medical colleges with one dental college and one nursing college. These five institutions were rendering health education to the youth of the state. However, in the following years, the academic landscape of the state witnessed a vast change. With the improvement of infrastructure of medical education apart from intake capacities into the medical colleges, new opportunities for jobs were created. This positive change took a new momentum in the year 2015.
The CM said that at present the number of medical colleges in Assam rose to 12. He said that during COVID 19 pandemic, when the people of the state felt the need for more ICU beds, State government took a decision to set up medical college and hospital in every district. He said that taking a responsibility of the people of the state, government has taken a decision to increase the number of medical college and hospital to 25. He also said that in order to transform Assam into a hub of medical education in South East Asian nations, State government has increased the number of MBBS seats from 350 to 1500. The Chief Minister said that State government has taken several steps with regard to introduction of new courses, as he appealed to the Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences to take a crucial role in this regard. Health and Family Welfare Minister Keshab Mahanta, Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare Department Avinash Joshi, Commissioner and Secretary Medical Education and Research Siddharth Singh, VC Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences Dr. Dhruba Jyoti Bora, Director of Medical Education Dr. Anup Barman, and hosts of others were present on the occasion, stated a press release.
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