Medical education in Assam

Prof (Dr) Karuna Hazarika

(Principal, Tezpur Medical College, Email: drkaruna97@gmail.com)

The Assam Medical College (AMC) is the first Medical College in Assam and the whole of Northeastern India. This was the Berry White Medical School founded in 1900 with a huge donation from Sir John Berry White. And that was later converted into a government medical college in 1947. Most of us are not aware of the fact that in 1910, two X-ray machines were imported from England and that was the turning point for the opening of the first radiology department in India. Medical education started at Assam Medical College which has completed its Platinum Jubilee. Students from Assam usually used to go to Dhaka for admission in medical courses. For postgraduate education, students visited England and most of the time they came out successful and bring laurels to the state. The earlier students were blessed with the experience and teachings of those legendary figures in the medical field of Assam. Thus the growth of Gauhati Medical College and Silchar Medical College are the second steps in the development of medical education in Assam and remained standstill until recent years.

This is to highlight medical education in the context of modern medical education only. Different branches of medical education exist in India. Assam Ayurvedic and Homeopathic colleges are functioning for a long. The Government is trying to uplift the traditional practice of medicine, countrywide by various means. But to a great extent, modern medicine is considered the ultimate. Hon'ble PM has announced a huge sum (Rs 64,180 crore) for the development of medical facilities countrywide, including the development of medical colleges in every district, in his speech while launching the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission in October 2021. In Assam, medical education is controlled by the DME (Directorate of Medical Education) under the Health Department since 1984.

People in Assam have seen the development of infrastructure not only in medical education and also in healthcare facilities for the last two decades. This is because of the vision and dynamism of Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Assam. The entire medical education and health sectors got an uplift during his long tenure as Health & FW Minister. Until recent times there were only a few numbers of medical seats available for the students of Assam in three medical colleges. The development of new medical colleges in Barpeta, Jorhat, Tezpur, Diphu and Lakhimpur could help the students to get medical education at their convenience with a total of 1,100 seats. Due to the Government policy, there is competition amongst students nationwide through NEET and got scope to study outside the state and students from other states are also getting admission in the colleges of Assam (15 per cent AQI). The students are getting an opportunity to assimilate themselves for exchange of experience and knowledge. Many more medical colleges are coming up in different districts of Assam and are in various stages of development. Guwahati is going to have its second medical college very soon. The process of infrastructure development is in full swing under the dynamic leadership of Hon'ble CM, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, and with the able guidance of Hon'ble Health & FW Minister Sjt. Keshab Mahanta. No doubt the new medical colleges will be unique on their own.

The new medical, dental, nursing and paramedical institutes under SSUHS (Medical University), and AIIMS (Guwahati) will not only give the students an opportunity for education but also increase the scope of quality, and tertiary healthcare facilities at the district levels. There is simultaneous growth of postgraduate (998) and super speciality (33) courses as well. Tezpur Medical College is considered a postgraduate institute with facilities for clinical and nonclinical PGs in a short period. It's a commendable achievement in the Government sector and a great boon in a healthcare facility in Assam.

In recent times NMC has restructured the medical curriculum for a better understanding and utilization of the scope of learning with different guidelines for the students and faculties. Faculties are trained to guide and train the students as per the new curriculum and the academic calendar developed centrally by NMC. In the faculty development program, all the faculties have to undergo certain training and clear biomedical waste management courses to fulfil the criteria for future promotion. There are a total of 96649 faculties in the country out of which 1128 in Assam (NMC data) are engaged in various colleges. Tamilnadu, Karnataka, and Maharastra are having the maximum number of faculty engaged in government and private sectors. The NMC has also taken various steps to cope with the shortage of faculties. They are planning to designate faculties as Emeritus Professor who will be allowed to do the academic activities at convenience. The senior consultants who are engaged in private sectors are allowed to designate as faculties provided the stipulated criteria are fulfilled. Moreover, they have allowed increasing the retirement age up to 70 years for filling up the shortage of faculties. In our experience, there is a dearth of faculties in the subjects like anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, anesthesiology, and radiology, mostly. The basic science PG seats remain vacant in most medical colleges. In Assam, most of the time the posts are vacant due to a lack of candidates that may be due to unwillingness or a lack of requisite qualifications. Many Faculty Positions all over India are vacant due to the dearth of new faculties. It is seen that many newer medical graduates dither to take up a job in the Government sector for various reasons and this is indeed a matter of concern. Lucrative offers from the private sector make it more attractive for the younger generation. There is a need to make the basic sciences department more attractive for the medical graduates because teachers from these departments train the basics of Medical Education. The work, load of faculties in medical colleges, is different from the other colleges including the technical institution. Apart from dealing with students for academic activities, the faculties have to do major work in the treatment of the patient in providing healthcare which is very vital in medical college, as well. Many of the faculties feel deprived in comparison to other faculties of the different educational institutions. Moreover, the pay structure is equal in faculties of other institutes and other categories of medical profession despite different criteria in entry-level and duration of courses and profession, etc.

NMC and other authorities need to take up a holistic approach in its approach to improve Medical Education throughout the country. Facilities like schools, accommodation and other recreational scope need to be addressed adequately. There is a need to attract fresh minds to Medical teaching which will give a great boost to medical teaching in the days to come.