The Telangana state government, on Wednesday, July 5, has approved the establishment of eight new medical colleges in the state, said a report by The New Indian Express.
These medical colleges will be set up in these districts:
1) Jogulamba-Gadwal
2) Narayanpet, Mulugu
3) Warangal
4) Medak
5) Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri
6) Rangareddy
7) Medchal-Malkajgiri
Each of these colleges will offer 100 seats starting from the next academic year.
With this latest development, the state government has now sanctioned medical colleges in 25 out of the total 33 districts in the state. The objective is to have at least one medical college in each district, added the report by TNIE.
Telangana Health and Finance Minister, T Harish Rao, took to Twitter to announce the new decision by the state government. “One medical college for one district, a vision of Hon'ble CM Shri KCR garu is going to be a reality. Here are the new 8 medical colleges approved by State government adding to the existing medical colleges. In tune to the vision of #ArogyaTelangana these colleges will foster more opportunities for students to pursue medical education and further enhance healthcare services in districts(sic),” the tweet read.
Increase in MBBS seats
The establishment of more government medical colleges has led to a significant increase in the number of medical seats in the state.
In 2014, government colleges offered 850 seats, which have now increased to 3,790. With the addition of 800 seats from the newly sanctioned colleges, the total number of MBBS seats in government medical colleges will rise to 4,590.
When considering both government and private medical colleges, Telangana has grown from 20 colleges in 2014 to 56 colleges this year, with the number of MBBS seats quadrupling from 2,850 to 8,340. Furthermore, the addition of seats from the newly established medical colleges will bring the total to 9,140 seats.
Telangana currently leads the nation with 22 MBBS seats per lakh population and secures the second position with 7.5 postgraduate seats.
In the upcoming academic year 2023-24, Telangana will contribute 43 per cent of the total new medical seats nationwide, allocating 900 seats from the state out of a grand total of 2,118 seats, added TNIE.