New Delhi: There has not been a single government medical college set up in Gujarat since 1995, as per the Gujarat government’s own information in the State assembly. But four private medical colleges have been granted permissions last year, in 2023. Of the 508 new nursing schools and colleges set up over two years, only one was on the state government’s initiative, reports The New Indian Express.
The BJP state government, in power almost continuously since 1995, but for a brief interlude, said in a written reply that six government medical colleges are operating in the state. The first was established in Ahmedabad in 1871 and the last in Bhavnagar in 1995. This was in response to Congress MLA Amit Chavda’s question in the Assembly on Thursday, February 29.
The reply also says no government medical colleges were approved in 2022 or 2023, but four private medical colleges were given the green signal last year. The newspaper reports that in 2022, “five medical colleges run by the Gujarat Medical Education & Research Society (a registered trust of the Gujarat government) got government approval.” Also, “in the past two years, no new government or grant-aided college for Ayurveda and Homeopathy degrees has been sanctioned in the state.”
Just one public nursing school
In response to another question raised by Congress MLA Ganiben Thakor, the BJP government stated that 508 new nursing schools and colleges have opened in the state in the last two years, but of the 508, only one is a public nursing institution. The remaining 507 were all private colleges. In 2023-24, of a total of 315 institutes established, only one, MSC Nursing Government College, was government-run.
Health Minister Rushikesh Patel claimed that the government intends to establish a medical college in each district. “By 2027, the government aims to increase the number of medical seats at undergraduate and postgraduate levels to 12,200,” the health minister is quoted as saying.
“The fees of government colleges must be low compared to private colleges to enable the poor and middle-class students to become doctors, but the Gujarat government has not established any new government medical college in the last 29 years because this government cares only for rich and industrialists,” Amit Chavda, Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly is quoted as saying.
Public medical institutions outside Gujarat?
Across the country, as the country gears up for the general elections due in a few weeks, the BJP government has amped up its publicity but there has been a sharp debate on exactly how many public medical institutions, especially AIIMS, the BJP government has been claiming it has set up. Five were inaugurated by PM Modi across India, but there are questions about how ‘new’ they are and of multiple inaugurations they have seen. The Wire has also reported last year on partially constructed AIIMS being declared as complete institutes.