More medical colleges in Assam

The signing of an MoU between a private company and the Assam government on Friday under which the former has committed a sum of Rs 150 crore as CSR support to the upcoming second medical college in Guwahati is a very significant development. This CSR fund has come close on the heels of a call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the corporate sector for providing more opportunities to Indian students in the field of medical education. While the MoU will herald a new beginning in Assam's medical education, it is also important to note that this is for the first time that the State government has collaborated with the private sector for building the infrastructure of a medical college. The promised fund will be utilized for the infrastructure development of the academic block of the upcoming medical college. Friday's MoU will remain significant. It is also important to note that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has big dreams for the expansion of medical education and specialized healthcare in the state. As has been reported, the State government is working with a vision of setting up one medical college in every district in Assam. At the moment, steps have been already initiated for the establishment of 15 new medical colleges in addition to the nine existing ones. Of the 15 new medical colleges, construction work of seven is already going on in Nalbari, Nagaon, Kokrajhar, Tinsukia, Charaideo and Biswanath Chariali, besides the second medical college in Guwahati. The remaining colleges will be set up at Golaghat, Bongaigaon, Morigaon, Tamulpur, Dhemaji, Sivasagar, Karimganj and Goalpara. If completed in the next five years, then Assam's total number of medical colleges will rise to 24. This will provide ample opportunity for hundreds of students to fulfil their dream of pursuing medical education, apart from greatly increasing the availability of doctors. All this is happening when Assam Medical College, the first medical college of the entire Northeast, is celebrating its platinum jubilee.