Shillong, Oct 3: The PA Sangma International Medical College of University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM) has become the first private medical college in Meghalaya after it received approval from Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to begin the courses.
According to official sources, the college has been granted approval for intake of 150 students in an academic year. The approval from National Medical Commission (NMC) is awaited.
Taking to his social media account, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said, “Chancellor of USTM, Shri Mahbubul Hoque along with Prof. G D Sharma & Padmashri, Dr. S Saharia called on Hon’ble CM, Shri Conrad K Sangma to formally apprise him on the official nod accorded by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India for the operationalisation of P A Sangma International Medical College and Hospital from academic session 2024 for 150 seats of MBBS.”
CM Conrad K. Sangma had laid the foundation of the medical college in October 2022. He had said then that the medical college is a “great tribute” to his late father who believed that investment in people is the greatest investment. He further said that the medical college would be a great blessing for the people of the region. He also thanked the founder of USTM Mahbubul Hoque for bestowing his late father with the honour.
Earlier, Hoque sought the support of the state government in terms of funding for the medical college. He had said, since pursuing a medical degree is expensive, he sought funding from the state government so that the medical college would reserve seats for the students of Meghalaya.
Moreover, USTM has a hospital running and it would be upgraded to a super-speciality hospital in the near future with over 1000 beds.
The hospital currently has X-Ray and other equipment like Endoscopy, FibroScan, CT scan and other equipment is being installed within a stipulated time frame.
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya government has been trying to establish a state-owned medical college for decades. Currently, work is on to establish the Shillong Medical College and it would be operationalised by 2025-26.
NMC officials have visited the state and provided guidance to the state government in the past. The state government has also organised an orientation programme for specialists to take up teaching faculty roles at the upcoming Shillong Medical College.
A similar medical college is also being established in Tura, Garo Hills, which is a greenfield project and would be operationalised by 2027.
Currently, the state has only one government medical college, which is North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), based on the outskirts of Shillong, under Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. It was established in 2008 and admits 50 students per year for the undergraduate course of MBBS.
Although the State has many nursing colleges, there is no State-level medical college, barring the NEIGRIHMS – which is a central institute. With USTM’s PA Sangma International Medical College getting approval, it has become the first private medical college in Meghalaya to begin admitting students.
